Kristoff’s new status
When BMC added Philippe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd to a roster that already included Alessandro Ballan and Greg Van Avermaet ahead of the 2012 season, the expectation was that Andy Rihs’ group of galacticos would become the dominant force in the classics, a sort of latter-day Mapei. Yet three years on, BMC are still to win a Monument, while a man who left the team that winter with precious little fanfare has now helped himself to two.
Alexander Kristoff claimed just one victory, the Norwegian national title, during his two-year spell at BMC but his career has picked up momentum since arriving at Katusha. A trickle of sprint wins and an Olympic medal in 2012 were followed by a solid classics campaign the following season, before Milan-San Remo victory formally heralded his arrival at the top table.
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Kristoff’s victory at the Tour of Flanders marks another stage in his career, the transition from being a sprinter who can last the distance to a bona fide classics rider. Tracking Niki Terpstra’s move on the Kruisberg took strength, but perhaps more importantly, it showed both confidence and nous for the fastest man in the front group to take a gamble on going up the road with 30 kilometres still to race.
The win – along with Luca Paolini’s at Gent-Wevelgem last week – comes at an opportune time for Katusha, whose existence is not guaranteed beyond the end of this season. “A decision on applying for license renewal in the WorldTour will be made on the basis of the performance of Katusha in the first half of 2015,” backer Igor Makarov said last winter, though much may also depend on whether his ITERA natural gas company is willing to keep footing the bill at a time of economic crisis in Russia. Whatever happens, of course, Kristoff will have no shortage of suitors. (BR)
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