A last minute catch with 400 meters to go put Alexander Kristoff in the perfect position to take the sprint victory in the GP du canton d’Argovie in Gippingen (Switzerland) on Thursday.
- It was hard. I was almost dropped two, three times at some 15 km from the finish because my own teammates went so hard in the front. They all had the opportunity to try to win today as I have never been good in this race in the past. Pavel Kochetkov, Iurii Trofimov, Sergei Chernetckii, they all went so hard but did not get away, so in the end that was a good move as everybody became tired. The last lap I suffered less and could recover and then my teammates did everything for me. Ilnur Zakarin, Sergey Lagutin and Chernetckii made the perfect lead-out for me. It was a nice job from them. I am happy to put Gippingen on my palmares as I never managed before to finish this race in the front. It confirms that my shape is good, - said Alexander Kristoff.
With a course of 15 laps at 12,1 km each and a climb to Schlatt part of the profile, it was a testing day on the legs in Switzerland.
Six riders went clear in a break but were brought back with 2 laps to go, setting off a flurry of new efforts from riders with ambitions on the day, including Team Katusha’s riders. The very last rider, who attacked in this race, was local rider Sylvan Dillier (BMC) who took a flyer and was only reeled back with less than half kilometer to go, where already Alexander Kristoff did not get any chance to his rivals in the bunch sprint.
Kristoff’s victory followed with Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) and Davide Appollonio of Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec rounding out the podium.
- Our climbers did a nice job today. They attacked and counterattacked. Ilnur Zakarin and Iurii Trofimov showed they did not lose their Giro d’Italia condition. They had to go full gas in the last kilometers to catch Dillier. It is nice to work with this group. Now we will head with confidence to the Tour de Suisse, - said team director Torsten Schmidt.
More good Team Katusha news came from France where General Manager Viacheslav Ekimov continues to build further on the future of the team. During the Critérium du Dauphiné, Alberto Losada and Angel Vicioso both re-signed with Team Katusha. Both Spanish riders have served for many years as key elements of the team in the Grand Tours and other stage races.
Photo credit: (c) GP du canton d'Argovie
