Alexander Kristoff: In the end, I was not strong enough

These days, you have no choice but to hit the ground running. Long gone is the era when a grandee of the peloton might show up for his first race of the season bundled up in arm and leg warmers, with just a few hundred kilometres in his legs, and then coax himself back into action along the French or Italian Riviera. But even by modern standards, the reintroduction to racing for those starting their campaigns at the Tour of Qatar on Monday was particularly brutal, with the opening stage run off at an eye-watering average speed of 51.938km/h.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.