Alexander Kristoff took his fifth podium of the season and the eleventh for the Belgian World Team in 2022 in a sprint in Milano-Torino (1.Pro, 16/03) this Wednesday. The oldest race on the calendar followed a parcours suited for fast riders between Magenta and Rivoli.
In addition to the final, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux also took its responsibility in the chase behind the early breakaway of three riders by positioning Italian rider Simone Petilli in the lead of the peloton. The escapees were caught with 20 kilometer to go, after which a duo led the race until the final 4 kilometer.
Alexander Kristoff and Biniam Girmay were protected by their teammates until the last moment and both participated to the sprint in the streets of Rivoli. The Norwegian rider launched his powerful effort on the left side of the road and obtained third place. His 21 year old teammate finished tenth and took his fourth top ten in ten days.
Following his crash just after the feed zone, German rider Georg Zimmermann has been transported to hospital for radiography but no severe injuries
« First, I'm satisfied that I have a good feeling going into the classics. In contrary to 2021, when I got sick after Paris-Nice, I recovered well from an intense week in Tirreno-Adriatico and feel that my form benefits from it. I didn't obtain promising results in the Race of the Two Seas, but I knew that I had the legs. This enabled me to finish on the podium today. It was a pity that we lost Georg Zimmermann in a crash, because he was an important element in our sprint train. Together with Loïc he was charged of positioning us in the final. After the analysis of the final kilometers, we can conclude that we could have done better in terms of cohesion. It was a pity that we lost each other and that we didn't manage to unite our forces, because also Andrea Pasqualon and Biniam Girmay had good legs. I believe in this team and I know that we are able to win this type of races. All of this is a good sign three days ahead of Milano-San Remo. »
