Tour of Slovakia: Kristoff wins stage 1a
Norwegian beats Mørkøv and Viviani in opening sprint

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 |
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Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.
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