Tour of Slovakia: Kristoff wins stage 1a

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Norwegian beats Mørkøv and Viviani in opening sprint

(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) took victory on the opening stage of the Tour of Slovakia, taking the race lead as he beat the Deceuninck-QuickStep duo of Michael Mørkøv and Elia Viviani in a bunch sprint.

Groupama-FDJ and Deceuninck-QuickStep controlled the stage, the first of two on Wednesday, for much of the day, ensuring that the early break wouldn't stay away to contest the finish.

The six-man break got away early on, with Rasmus Bøgh Wallin (Riwal Readynez), Alexandre Delletre (Delko Marseille Provence), Erik Fetter (Pannon Cycling Team), Florian Kierner (Felbermayr-Simplon), Kenny Molly (Wallonie-Bruxelles), and Anders Skaarseth (Uno-X) making up the day's main break.

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The sextet were brought back 10km before the finish, setting up a sprint finish on the cobbled streets of Bardejov. Despite Deceuninck-QuickStep's strength in numberes and fearsome lead-out train, it was Kristoff who powered to victory, his seventh of the season.

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 3:21:48
2Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
3Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
4Erik Baška (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe
5Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
6Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Cycling Academy
7Emils Liepinš (Lat) Wallonie-Bruxelles
8Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk 0:00:04
9Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles
10Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
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General classification
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 3:21:42
2Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:02
3Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:04
4Erik Baška (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
6Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Cycling Academy
7Emils Liepinš (Lat) Wallonie-Bruxelles
8Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk 0:00:10
9Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles
10Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:14
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Dani Ostanek
Dani Ostanek
Senior News Writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor, later being hired full-time. Her favourite races include Strade Bianche, the Tour de France Femmes, Paris-Roubaix, and Tro-Bro Léon.

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