Alexander Kristoff told Cyclingnews on Thursday that he believes he is well-suited for the World Championship course in Richmond, and he’s hoping there will be enough teams riding for a bunch sprint to nullify any late attacks.
“I think it suits quite well, but of course it’s a hard final,” he said after riding the course with his team. “The course itself is not too hard, but the final is a bit heavy. I hope I will have the legs to sprint for the victory, but we must make sure it stays together and nobody gets away up the finishing straight.”
The Richmond course includes two short, punchy climbs that come in quick succession in the final four kilometres. Another uphill drag leads to the finishing straight on Broad Street.
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Kristoff’s best finish in a World Championship road race came last year in Ponferrada, Spain, where he came in eighth behind winner Michal Kwiatkowski of Poland. Kristoff took the field sprint seven seconds behind the winner, finishing ahead of Germany’s John Degenkolb, France’s Nacer Bouhani and Australia’s Michael Matthews, all of whom have been tabbed as favourites this year.
The 28-year-old’s only other experience in the elite race came in 2010, when he helped fellow Norwegian Thor Hushovd take the win in Geelong, Australia. Kristoff has had his best-ever season this year, however, taking 20 wins so far. He’s hoping to grab his 21st on Sunday in Richmond.
To do that, the winner of this year’s Tour of Fanders and Scheldeprijs will have to overcome the cobbled, Classics-style climbs in the finale while hoping a large group comes to the finish together. With only six riders on the Norwegian team, Kristoff is counting on cooperation from some of the other sprinters’ teams to nullify the inevitable attacks.
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