"We had a tailwind in the sprint and that suits me better as a big rider" - Soren Waerenskjold shines again at AlUla Tour

Soren Waerenskjold took a strong victory last year at the AlUla Tour, and once again in a slight uphill finish the Norwegian took a strong victory and jumped into the race lead.

“I do well away from home. We had a tailwind in the sprint and that suits me better as a big rider. This was a little easier than last year, which was very steep then,” Waerenskjold said in a post-race interview. “This final phase suited me even better. As a team we wanted to stay well ahead, but not take the lead too early. We did that perfectly. We met up after the top of the most difficult part, and then we wanted to keep the moments in the last 500 meters. At that point you don't want to lose all your power, that went very well.”

A few strong attacks shook the peloton in the ascent to the Sharaan Nature Reserve, including a move from Pierre Latour which looked to be stealing the victory from the sprinters. However, a few rouleurs and sprinters made it through the hilltop, and in the final kilometer there was enough speed in the peloton to bring the Frenchman back.

“But I knew I had to stay calm. You don't want to go too deep in echelons, because it will stick in your legs. We then had a long stretch of headwind, so I could take it easy. You have to keep believing and I especially believed in my teammates at the end," he tells. "They had to do it gradually, and luckily they succeeded.”

DSM launched the sprint in support of Nils Eekhoff, but Waerenskjold had the wheel and then outpowered the rest of the competition. The triumph is the first of the year for Uno-X Mobility.

“This is a good start to the season. You are always curious how you will start the year, but luckily it goes well," he concludes. "There are still a few sprint stages coming up, so I have to be mentally ready every day. Fortunately, there is also a stage where I can take it a bit easier."