This Friday, the third stage of the Tour of Algarve (2.Pro, 16-20/02) offered a new opportunity to the sprinters in Faro at the end of a stage of 211 kilometer. Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux aimed high with sprinter Alexander Kristoff, even though his lead out Andrea Pasqualon did not start after his crash downhill in the second stage.
The former European champion thus benefited from the protection of his five teammates, who then prepared the bunch sprint once all difficulties were behind the back with 20 kilometer to go. Frenchman Adrien Petit brought Kristoff to the front of the peloton underneath the red flag. The Norwegian rider sprinted to fourth place on a slightly uphill road. His compatriot Sven Erik Bystrøm (5th) and German rider Georg Zimmermann (12th) are well positioned in the provisional classification with two decisive stages left: an individual time trial of 32 kilometer on Saturday and a finish on top of Alto de Malhao on Sunday.
« We showed again great teamwork in support of our sprinter Alexander Kristoff today. The wind in the back made the final very fast towards the last 3 kilometer, where we left the highway for smaller streets towards the centre of Faro. We were blocked on the left side in this very long turn, so I had to improvise and bring Alexander to the front on the right side. I started my effort earlier as planned in order to enable him to start the final kilometer in the top ten. The final with a roundabout and slight uphill slope towards the finish suited Andrea Pasqualon really well, so it was a huge pity that he was missing in our train today. Nevertheless, Alexander rewarded our work with a nice fourth place. I wish my roommate a good recovery, so we can go full again together in the Belgian opening weekend. »
