Alexander Kristoff has achieved his first victory for his new team Uno-X. In the first stage of the Tour of the Algarve, he was perfectly piloted by his teammate and compatriot Søren Waerenskjold, who was 13 years his junior. Jordi Meeus squeezed himself to 2nd place in the sprint, Fabio Jakobsen did not get further than 4th place.
A lot of top sprinters have gathered in Portugal this week, in the first stage to Lagos they could immediately indulge themselves.
Tim Declercq also felt completely at ease in his familiar role as a workhorse, this time in the service of Fabio Jakobsen.
But the timing of the Dutchman is not quite right at the start of the season. In the final, Jakobsen lost his lead-out, so he did not get further than a 4th place.
Then the work of Uno-X was a lot more exemplary. Søren Waerenskjold did a great job for Alexander Kristoff, only Jordi Meeus could avoid a one-two from the Norwegian formation.
With Timo Kielich on 9 and Edward Theuns, 3 Belgians finished in the top 10.
Meeus: “Too bad, because the lead-out was perfect”
Jordi Meeus already finished 2nd 2 times and 3rd 3 times this season. This time he could only look at himself, said the young Belgian. “I got a good lead-out. Sorry to my teammates.”
“I was close again, but not close enough. It’s a real shame, because the preparation was perfect. Too bad I couldn’t finish it.”
“In the end I moved up a lot, but Kristoff’s teammate was also there. I was looking for space, but found it a bit late. Fortunately, there are still opportunities here.”
| Ride 1 result | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Alexander Kristoff (Noo) | 200 km in 4u49’25” |
| 2. | Jordan Meeus | |
| 3. | Søren Waerenskjold (Noo) | allen |
| 4. | Fabio Jakobsen (Down) | |
| 5. | Pavel Bittner (Czech Republic) | |
| 6. | Paul Penhoët (From) | time |
| 7. | Natnael Tesfatsion (Eri) | |
| 8. | Timo Kielich | |
| 9. | Edward Theuns | |
| Stand at rate | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Alexander Kristoff (Noo) | |
| 2. | Jordan Meeus | op 4″ |
| 3. | Søren Waerenskjold (Noo) | 6″ |
| 4. | Fabio Jakobsen (Down) | 10″ |
| 5. | PavelBittner (Tsj) | z.t. |
| Tour of the Algarve | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| winner | unfortunately | ||||
| 15/02 | rit 1 | Portimão – Lagos | 200 km | Kristoff | Kristoff |
| 16/02 | rit 2 | Sagres – Alto da Foia | 186 km | Cort | Cort |
| 17/02 | rit 3 | Faro – Tavira | 203 km | ||
| 18/02 | rit 4 | Albufeira – Alto do Malhão | 178 km | ||
| 19/02 | rit 5 | Lagoon – Lagoon (ITT) | 24,4 km | ||
