Abu Dhabi Tour 2018, Kristoff: “This victory is important both to me and to the team”

Alexander Kristoff takes the second seasonal victory in stage 1 of the Abu Dhabi Tour 2018. After having won the last stage of Tour of Oman, the UAE Team Emirates sprinter takes today both the stage win and the overall lead of the Emirati stage race. In this manner the Norvegian claims that his condition is on a rising trend and he applies for a leading role for the Classics. “In the finale I lost my leadout Roberto Ferrari – debuts Kristoff in the speech he granted after having crossed the finish line – I was a bit closed, but then I chased the wheels of Caleb Ewan. He is very fast but I managed to overtake him just before the finish line, struggling to resist in front of him despite the presence of crosswind“, revealing how things went in the last kilometers of racing.

The European Champion also highlights what this triumph means for the team: “This is an important victory both to me and to the team, because I won on the home soil of my squad. Now we all feel less pression over ourselves thanks to this success“. Moreover, Kristoff seems very confident about the harmony he found between the members of his new team, a factor that contributed to accomplish the second success in a matter of four days of racing. “It’s great to get my second win of the season here. I am really grateful to my teammates, I could not have done it without them. To recognise today’s victory as a collective achievement is really important and it’s satisfying to start in this way with my new team“, concludes Kristoff.