Earlier this year, Alexander Kristoff learned he would not be on UAE Team Emirates' squad for the Tour de France and said the 2019 edition might have been his last. But his Tour dreams have been given new life as the coronavirus-shortened 2020 road season created unprecedented overlaps with the Classics.
According to Norwegian TV2, Kristoff has revised his plan to race the Giro d'Italia because it overlaps with the major Classics and will race the Tour de France on August 29 - September 20.
Slovenian star Tadej Pogacar is expected to lead the UAE Team Emirates in the Tour de France. Fernando Gaviria was to be the team's main sprinter and Max Richeze his lead-out man, but Richeze told Marca in Argentina that he does not yet know his race schedule.
If Kristoff raced the Giro d'Italia he would have had to miss out on defending his title in Gent-Wevelgem or going for a second victory in the Scheldeprijs or Tour of Flanders so his schedule was shifted in favour of the Tour de France.
Kristoff and teammate Seven Erik Bystrøm will follow much of the same calendar, possibly starting with the Vuelta a Burgos on July 28 and Circuito de Getxo on August 2. They move on to France for the Critérium du Dauphiné August 12-16.
The Italian federation last month asked to move Il Lombardia to the August 8 date, Milan-San Remo to August 22 and the Italian championships to Lombardia's designated October 31 date.
The UCI have yet to confirm the August 22 date for Milan-San Remo is yet to be confirmed, but Kristoff appears to be operating on the assumption the date has been moved, and will miss his national championships if they remain in the August spot.
After the Tour de France, he will race Binche-Chimay-Binche on October 6, Gent-Wevelgem and Scheldeprijs on October 11 and 14, respectively, before the Tour of Flanders on October 18, the Driedaagse Bruge-De Panne on October 21 and Paris-Roubaix on October 25.
