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.
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.
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | 3:21:48 |
| 2 | Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep | |
| 3 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep | |
| 4 | Erik Baška (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
| 5 | Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | |
| 6 | Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Cycling Academy | |
| 7 | Emils Liepinš (Lat) Wallonie-Bruxelles | |
| 8 | Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:00:04 |
| 9 | Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles | |
| 10 | Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:00:08 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates | 3:21:42 |
| 2 | Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:00:02 |
| 3 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:00:04 |
| 4 | Erik Baška (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:06 |
| 5 | Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | |
| 6 | Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Cycling Academy | |
| 7 | Emils Liepinš (Lat) Wallonie-Bruxelles | |
| 8 | Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk | 0:00:10 |
| 9 | Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles | |
| 10 | Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep | 0:00:14 |
-
Vuelta a España stage 6 LIVE: Breakaway clear on the first Pyrenean mountain test of the race
170km and 3,600 metres of climbing on the menu on the road to Pal -
Vuelta a España director vows action against pro-Palestine protesters who disrupted Israel-Premier Tech during stage 5
'We are going to file a complaint; we cannot allow what happened' says Javier Guillén -
'You're on a knife-edge, mistakes can and do happen' – Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe regroup to fourth after nasty Sobrero crash in Vuelta a España TTT
'He's our engine room – to lose him at that point in the race obviously lost us a lot of performance' says Head of Engineering Dan Bigham to Cyclingnews -
'My body needs some proper rest' – Breaks, bone density and REDS concerns lead Carolin Schiff to call early halt to 2025 gravel season
'For quite a while I haven't had my period so right now the most important thing is getting that back on track, taking this seriously' says 2023 Unbound 200 winner
