Outnumbered Kristoff wins in Zottegem

Published March 29, 2016 11:05AM

After a disappointing start to Alexander Kristoff’s classics campaign (he skipped Gent-Wevelgem due to illness) the Norwegian came storming in at Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde, winning stage 1. Though he was up against two Astana riders, Alexey Lutsenko and Lieuwe Westra, in the finale, Katusha’s leader kept cool and delivered his trademark long-range sprint to win after 198.2km of racing.

“I’ve been a bit sick, and I think I needed this day,” said Kristoff. “I hope I have better legs tomorrow, I was suffering all day today. In the end I managed to win, but I was really struggling.”

Stage 1, top 10

Top-10 overall

The day’s large front group split on the Ten Bosse as four riders went clear: the race’s defending champion, Kristoff, Sky’s Luke Rowe, along with Lutsenko and Westra.

With 25km to go, the four leaders had a little over one minute’s advantage. Etixx – Quick-Step found itself, once again, in the unenviable position at the front of the peloton, trying to bring back the gap.

With about 19km to go, Rowe suffered a flat tire. The neutral moto gave him a spare wheel, and Mads Pedersen (Stolting), who had been chasing alone, soon caught the Briton.

With five kilometers left, the two Astana riders began toying with Kristoff, testing him with a few small accelerations.

The Astana duo forced Kristoff to lead into the final kilometer as their lead dipped below 60 seconds. Lutsenko sat second wheel, waiting for the move to come, and it did — Kristoff went early, in his customary fashion, and overpowered his two rivals.

The three-day race continues Wednesday with a 211.1km race from Zottegem to Koksijde that includes five tough climbs midway through the day.

Stage 1 results

1. Alexander KRISTOFF, TEAM KATUSHA, in 4:22:34

2. Alexey LUTSENKO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00

3. Lieuwe WESTRA, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :00

4. Mads PEDERSEN, SSG, at :29

5. Luke ROWE, TEAM SKY, at :29

6. Pim LIGTHART, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :36

7. Manuel BELLETTI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :36

8. Juraj SAGAN, TINKOFF, at :36

9. Sean DE BIE, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :36

10. Marco HALLER, TEAM KATUSHA, at :36

11. Pieter VANSPEYBROUCK, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at :36

12. Tony MARTIN, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :36

13. Scott THWAITES, BORA-ARGON 18, at :36

14. Alberto BETTIOL, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM, at :36

15. Amaury CAPIOT, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at :36

16. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :36

17. Alex KIRSCH, SSG, at :36

18. Michel KREDER, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at :36

19. Berden DE VRIES, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at :36

20. Florian SENECHAL, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at :36

21. Sacha MODOLO, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at :36

22. Gijs VAN HOECKE, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at :36

23. Iuri FILOSI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at :36

24. Rick ZABEL, BMC RACING TEAM, at :36

25. Bert VAN LERBERGHE, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at :36

26. Sonny COLBRELLI, BARDIANI CSF, at :36

27. Nikolay TRUSOV, TINKOFF, at :36

28. Luke DURBRIDGE, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at :36

29. Nils POLITT, TEAM KATUSHA, at :36

30. Sylvain CHAVANEL, DIRECT ENERGIE, at :36

31. Stefan KUENG, BMC RACING TEAM, at :36

32. Dmitriy GRUZDEV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :36

33. Dylan TEUNS, BMC RACING TEAM, at :36

34. Andrea FEDI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :36

35. Loic VLIEGEN, BMC RACING TEAM, at :36

36. Filippo POZZATO, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :36

37. Viacheslav KUZNETSOV, TEAM KATUSHA, at :36

38. Lars BOOM, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :36

39. Michael MORKOV, TEAM KATUSHA, at :36

40. Johan LE BON, FDJ, at :59

41. Danny VAN POPPEL, TEAM SKY, at :59

42. Sander HELVEN, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 3:22

43. Jonas RICKAERT, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 3:22

44. Ryan ANDERSON, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 3:22

45. Hayden MCCORMICK, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 3:22

46. Ivar SLIK, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 3:22

47. Kristian HOUSE, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 3:22

48. Maxime FARAZIJN, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 3:22

49. Stijn STEELS, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 3:22

50. Andreas SCHILLINGER, BORA-ARGON 18, at 3:22

51. Mirco MAESTRI, BARDIANI CSF, at 3:22

52. Alexander PORSEV, TEAM KATUSHA, at 3:22

53. Michael SCHÄR, BMC RACING TEAM, at 3:22

54. Tom BOHLI, BMC RACING TEAM, at 3:22

55. Ian STANNARD, TEAM SKY, at 3:22

56. Jan BARTA, BORA-ARGON 18, at 3:22

57. Zakkari DEMPSTER, BORA-ARGON 18, at 3:22

58. Gert JOEAAR, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 3:22

59. Shane ARCHBOLD, BORA-ARGON 18, at 3:22

60. Luka MEZGEC, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 3:22

61. Luka PIBERNIK, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at 3:22

62. Hugo Hofstetter, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 3:22

63. Lars Ytting BAK, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 3:22

64. Raymond KREDER, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 3:22

65. Jack BAUER, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 5:14

66. Christian KNEES, TEAM SKY, at 5:14

67. Riccardo STACCHIOTTI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 5:14

68. André LOOIJ, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 6:01

69. Eduard Michael GROSU, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 6:01

70. Olivier LE GAC, FDJ, at 6:01

71. Sjoerd VAN GINNEKEN, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 6:01

72. Jacopo GUARNIERI, TEAM KATUSHA, at 6:01

73. Michael REIHS, SSG, at 6:01

74. Roberto FERRARI, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at 6:01

75. Ralf MATZKA, BORA-ARGON 18, at 6:01

76. Andrei SOLOMENNIKOV, GAZ, at 6:01

77. Kenneth VAN BILSEN, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 6:01

78. Marcel SIEBERG, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 6:01

79. Frederik FRISON, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 6:01

80. Federico ZURLO, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at 6:01

81. Marc SARREAU, FDJ, at 6:01

82. Jens KEUKELEIRE, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 6:01

83. Fabio SABATINI, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 10:23

84. Lukasz WISNIOWSKI, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 10:23

85. Marcel KITTEL, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 10:23

86. Sergey NIKOLAEV, GAZ, at 10:23

87. Daniel HOELGAARD, FDJ, at 10:23

88. Cyril LEMOINE, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 10:23

89. Davide MARTINELLI, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 11:05

90. Julien MORICE, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 11:05

91. Marcin BIALOBLOCKI, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 13:15

92. Ivan SAVITSKIY, GAZ, at 13:15

93. Guillaume VAN KEIRSBULCK, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 13:15

94. Iljo KEISSE, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 13:15

95. Martin MORTENSEN, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 13:15

96. Viktor MANAKOV, GAZ, at 13:15

97. Jakob FUGLSANG, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 13:15

98. Ryan MULLEN, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 13:15

99. Phil BAUHAUS, BORA-ARGON 18, at 13:15

100. Pavel BRUTT, TINKOFF, at 13:15

101. Magnus Cort NIELSEN, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 13:15

102. Nicola BOEM, BARDIANI CSF, at 14:22

103. Paolo SIMION, BARDIANI CSF, at 14:22

104. Giuseppe FONZI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at 14:22

105. Jonas TENBROCK, SSG, at 14:22

106. Alan MARANGONI, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 14:22

107. Floris GERFS, BMC RACING TEAM, at 14:22

108. Igor BOEV, GAZ, at 14:22

109. Antonio VIOLA, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 14:22

110. Michal KOLÁR, TINKOFF, at 14:22

111. Mamyr STASH, GAZ, at 14:22

112. Sam BEWLEY, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 14:22

113. Maciej BODNAR, TINKOFF, at 14:22

114. Erik BASKA, TINKOFF, at 14:22

115. Alessandro TONELLI, BARDIANI CSF, at 14:22

116. Maximiliano Ariel RICHEZE, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 14:22

117. Michael VAN STAEYEN, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 14:22

118. Marko KUMP, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at 14:22

119. Adrien PETIT, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 14:22

120. Alexandre PICHOT, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 14:22

121. Lasse Norman HANSEN, SSG, at 14:22

122. Murilo Antonio FISCHER, FDJ, at 14:22

123. André GREIPEL, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 14:22

124. Michael Carbel SVENDGAARD, SSG, at 14:22

125. Pier Paolo DE NEGRI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 14:22

126. Christophe LAPORTE, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 14:22

127. Romain CARDIS, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 14:22

128. Yohann GENE, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 14:22

129. Arman KAMYSHEV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 14:22

130. Elia VIVIANI, TEAM SKY, at 14:22

131. Taylor PHINNEY, BMC RACING TEAM, at 14:22

132. Andrew FENN, TEAM SKY, at 14:22

133. Sergey LAGUTIN, TEAM KATUSHA, at 14:22

134. Svein TUFT, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 14:22

135. Gianfranco ZILIOLI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 14:22

136. Yuma KOISHI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 14:22

137. Lukas PÖSTLBERGER, BORA-ARGON 18, at 14:22

138. Andrea GUARDINI, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 14:22

DNF Jasper DE BUYST, LOTTO SOUDAL

DNF Patrick BEVIN, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Matti BRESCHEL, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Kristijan KOREN, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF Kristoffer SKJERPING, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM

DNF MARC FOURNIER, FDJ

DNF Yoann OFFREDO, FDJ

DNF Gang XU, LAMPRE – MERIDA

DNF Chun Kai FENG, LAMPRE – MERIDA

DNF Mitchell DOCKER, ORICA – GreenEDGE

DNF Lorenzo ROTA, BARDIANI CSF

DNF Nicola RUFFONI, BARDIANI CSF

DNF Luca STERBINI, BARDIANI CSF

DNF Antoine DUCHESNE, DIRECT ENERGIE

DNF Manabu ISHIBASHI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI

DNF Matthew Harley GOSS, ONE PRO CYCLING

DNF Joshua HUNT, ONE PRO CYCLING

DNF Chris OPIE, ONE PRO CYCLING

DNF Steele VON HOFF, ONE PRO CYCLING

DNF Barry MARKUS, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON

DNF Tim KERKHOF, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON

DNF Andrea DAL COL, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA

DNF Jakub MARECZKO, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA

DNF Mirko TEDESCHI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA

DNF Eugert ZHUPA, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA

DNF Alexander KAMP, SSG

DNF Alexey KURBATOV, GAZ

DNF Kirill SVESHNIKOV, GAZ

General classification

1. Alexander KRISTOFF, TEAM KATUSHA, in 4:22:24

2. Alexey LUTSENKO, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :01

3. Lieuwe WESTRA, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :06

4. Mads PEDERSEN, SSG, at :39

5. Luke ROWE, TEAM SKY, at :39

6. Luke DURBRIDGE, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at :42

7. Tony MARTIN, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at :44

8. Rick ZABEL, BMC RACING TEAM, at :44

9. Michael MORKOV, TEAM KATUSHA, at :45

10. Pim LIGTHART, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :46

11. Manuel BELLETTI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :46

12. Juraj SAGAN, TINKOFF, at :46

13. Marco HALLER, TEAM KATUSHA, at :46

14. Pieter VANSPEYBROUCK, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at :46

15. Scott THWAITES, BORA-ARGON 18, at :46

16. Alberto BETTIOL, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM, at :46

17. Amaury CAPIOT, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at :46

18. Laurens DE VREESE, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :46

19. Alex KIRSCH, SSG, at :46

20. Michel KREDER, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at :46

21. Berden DE VRIES, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at :46

22. Florian SENECHAL, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at :46

23. Sacha MODOLO, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at :46

24. Gijs VAN HOECKE, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at :46

25. Iuri FILOSI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at :46

26. Bert VAN LERBERGHE, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at :46

27. Sonny COLBRELLI, BARDIANI CSF, at :46

28. Nikolay TRUSOV, TINKOFF, at :46

29. Nils POLITT, TEAM KATUSHA, at :46

30. Sylvain CHAVANEL, DIRECT ENERGIE, at :46

31. Stefan KUENG, BMC RACING TEAM, at :46

32. Dmitriy GRUZDEV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :46

33. Dylan TEUNS, BMC RACING TEAM, at :46

34. Andrea FEDI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :46

35. Loic VLIEGEN, BMC RACING TEAM, at :46

36. Viacheslav KUZNETSOV, TEAM KATUSHA, at :46

37. Lars BOOM, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at :46

38. Sean DE BIE, LOTTO SOUDAL, at :56

39. Filippo POZZATO, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at :56

40. Danny VAN POPPEL, TEAM SKY, at 1:03

41. Johan LE BON, FDJ, at 1:09

42. Sander HELVEN, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 3:32

43. Jonas RICKAERT, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 3:32

44. Ryan ANDERSON, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 3:32

45. Hayden MCCORMICK, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 3:32

46. Ivar SLIK, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 3:32

47. Kristian HOUSE, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 3:32

48. Maxime FARAZIJN, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 3:32

49. Stijn STEELS, TOPSPORT VLAANDEREN – BALOISE, at 3:32

50. Andreas SCHILLINGER, BORA-ARGON 18, at 3:32

51. Mirco MAESTRI, BARDIANI CSF, at 3:32

52. Alexander PORSEV, TEAM KATUSHA, at 3:32

53. Michael SCHÄR, BMC RACING TEAM, at 3:32

54. Tom BOHLI, BMC RACING TEAM, at 3:32

55. Ian STANNARD, TEAM SKY, at 3:32

56. Jan BARTA, BORA-ARGON 18, at 3:32

57. Zakkari DEMPSTER, BORA-ARGON 18, at 3:32

58. Gert JOEAAR, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 3:32

59. Shane ARCHBOLD, BORA-ARGON 18, at 3:32

60. Luka MEZGEC, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 3:32

61. Luka PIBERNIK, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at 3:32

62. Hugo Hofstetter, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 3:32

63. Lars Ytting BAK, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 3:32

64. Raymond KREDER, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 3:32

65. Jack BAUER, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 5:24

66. Christian KNEES, TEAM SKY, at 5:24

67. Riccardo STACCHIOTTI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 5:24

68. André LOOIJ, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 6:11

69. Eduard Michael GROSU, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 6:11

70. Olivier LE GAC, FDJ, at 6:11

71. Sjoerd VAN GINNEKEN, ROOMPOT – ORANJE PELOTON, at 6:11

72. Jacopo GUARNIERI, TEAM KATUSHA, at 6:11

73. Michael REIHS, SSG, at 6:11

74. Roberto FERRARI, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at 6:11

75. Ralf MATZKA, BORA-ARGON 18, at 6:11

76. Andrei SOLOMENNIKOV, GAZ, at 6:11

77. Kenneth VAN BILSEN, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 6:11

78. Marcel SIEBERG, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 6:11

79. Frederik FRISON, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 6:11

80. Federico ZURLO, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at 6:11

81. Marc SARREAU, FDJ, at 6:11

82. Jens KEUKELEIRE, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 6:11

83. Fabio SABATINI, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 10:33

84. Lukasz WISNIOWSKI, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 10:33

85. Marcel KITTEL, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 10:33

86. Sergey NIKOLAEV, GAZ, at 10:33

87. Daniel HOELGAARD, FDJ, at 10:33

88. Cyril LEMOINE, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 10:53

89. Davide MARTINELLI, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 11:15

90. Julien MORICE, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 11:15

91. Marcin BIALOBLOCKI, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 13:25

92. Ivan SAVITSKIY, GAZ, at 13:25

93. Guillaume VAN KEIRSBULCK, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 13:25

94. Iljo KEISSE, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 13:25

95. Martin MORTENSEN, ONE PRO CYCLING, at 13:25

96. Viktor MANAKOV, GAZ, at 13:25

97. Jakob FUGLSANG, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 13:25

98. Ryan MULLEN, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 13:25

99. Phil BAUHAUS, BORA-ARGON 18, at 13:25

100. Pavel BRUTT, TINKOFF, at 13:25

101. Magnus Cort NIELSEN, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 13:25

102. Nicola BOEM, BARDIANI CSF, at 14:32

103. Paolo SIMION, BARDIANI CSF, at 14:32

104. Giuseppe FONZI, SOUTHEAST – VENEZUELA, at 14:32

105. Jonas TENBROCK, SSG, at 14:32

106. Alan MARANGONI, CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING TEAM, at 14:32

107. Floris GERFS, BMC RACING TEAM, at 14:32

108. Igor BOEV, GAZ, at 14:32

109. Antonio VIOLA, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 14:32

110. Michal KOLÁR, TINKOFF, at 14:32

111. Mamyr STASH, GAZ, at 14:32

112. Sam BEWLEY, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 14:32

113. Maciej BODNAR, TINKOFF, at 14:32

114. Erik BASKA, TINKOFF, at 14:32

115. Alessandro TONELLI, BARDIANI CSF, at 14:32

116. Maximiliano Ariel RICHEZE, ETIXX – QUICK STEP, at 14:32

117. Michael VAN STAEYEN, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 14:32

118. Marko KUMP, LAMPRE – MERIDA, at 14:32

119. Adrien PETIT, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 14:32

120. Alexandre PICHOT, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 14:32

121. Lasse Norman HANSEN, SSG, at 14:32

122. Murilo Antonio FISCHER, FDJ, at 14:32

123. André GREIPEL, LOTTO SOUDAL, at 14:32

124. Michael Carbel SVENDGAARD, SSG, at 14:32

125. Pier Paolo DE NEGRI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 14:32

126. Christophe LAPORTE, COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS, at 14:32

127. Romain CARDIS, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 14:32

128. Yohann GENE, DIRECT ENERGIE, at 14:32

129. Arman KAMYSHEV, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 14:32

130. Elia VIVIANI, TEAM SKY, at 14:32

131. Taylor PHINNEY, BMC RACING TEAM, at 14:32

132. Andrew FENN, TEAM SKY, at 14:32

133. Sergey LAGUTIN, TEAM KATUSHA, at 14:32

134. Svein TUFT, ORICA – GreenEDGE, at 14:32

135. Gianfranco ZILIOLI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 14:32

136. Yuma KOISHI, NIPPO – VINI FANTINI, at 14:32

137. Lukas PÖSTLBERGER, BORA-ARGON 18, at 14:32

138. Andrea GUARDINI, ASTANA PRO TEAM, at 14:32