Norwegian Alexander Kristoff has claimed his first victory for his new team after moving back home to the Uno-X Pro Cycling Team. The 35-year-old won the first stage of the 2023 Tour of the Algarve after 200.2 kilometres between Portimao and Lagos in a bunch sprint ahead of Jordi Meeus from Bora-Hansgrohe successful.
Breakaways determine the action on stage 1 of the Tour of the Algarve
For a long time, the action on stage 1 of the Tour of the Algarve was dominated by a five-man breakaway consisting of Alexander Kamp (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), Aleksandr Grigorev (Efapel Cycling), Antonio Ferreira (Kelly-Simoldes-UDO), Rafael Lourenco (AP Hotels-Tavira-SC Farense) and Sergio Garcia (Glassdrive-Q8-Anicolor). Twelve kilometres before the finish, however, the last two escapees, Kamp and Grigorev, were caught. The result was a bunch sprint in Lagos.
Kristoff's team-mate Sören Waerenskjold started the sprint, the 35-year-old took the lead a good 100 metres before the finish and never relinquished it. Waerenskjold finished third, with Jordi Meeus sandwiched between the two Uno-X pros. The sprint was disappointing for top favourite Fabio Jakobsen. The Dutchman from Soudal - Quick Step was unable to complete his team's work despite a clear track on the home straight. In the end, he finished in fourth place.
Tour of the Algarve 2023: Stage 1 - Result
- Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) 4:49:25
- Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:00
- Sören Waerenskjold (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) +0:00
- Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal - Quick Step) +0:00
- Pavel Bittner (Team DSM) +0:00
- Paul Penhoet (Groupama-FDJ) +0:00
- Natnael Tesfatsion (Trek-Segafredo) +0:00
- Timo Kielich (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +0:00
- Edward Theuns (Trek-Segafredo) +0:00
- Tim van Dijke (Jumbo-Visma) +0:00
The second stage of the Tour of the Algarve 2023 continues on Thursday. The start is in Sagres, after 186.3 kilometres the mountain finish awaits on the Alto da Foia.
