Alexander Kristoff didn't have the legs to follow the wining move at the Tour of Flanders but the Katusha rider fought to the end in his title defence, winning the group sprint for fourth place last Sunday. Fast-foward to Scheldeprijs and it was a different story with the 2015 winner explaining post-race that miscommunication in the finale from his leadout train impeded his chances for victory
"Perhaps we made things a little too complicated today. In this final it is so narrow it’s hard just to be in the front. We had a plan to be first team into the 90-degree corner, but that did not happen, so in the end we were too far away," said Kristoff after a wet edition of the sprinters' classic.
Kristoff added that while leadout man Jacopo Guarnieri was in position, he was confused by the whearabouts of Michael Mørkøv inside the final kilometre.
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"Jacopo made it to the front and I was on his wheel, but at one point just before that, Mørkøv came between us, but wasn’t exactly following the moves, so all of us didn’t make it to the front. In truth Jacopo was in a good position and could have done the sprint himself, because I was stuck behind. I sprinted with what I could but at 200 meters I was finished," he said.
The Norwegian finished the race in 15th place with Guarnieri three seconds back in 26th place, while Mørkøv was back in 71st place at 29 seconds to the winner, Marcel Kittel (Etixx-Quick Step).
"I am disappointed, of course, because I won here last year and this is probably my worst result. We look forward to Sunday," said Kristoff who has enjoyed wins at the Tour of Oman, Qatar, and Three Days de Panne in 2016.
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