Saturday’s stage 7 of Petronas Le Tour de Langkawi was meant to be the second last day of racing for retiring Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X Mobility) but his retirement run was cruelly cut short when he fell halfway through the stage.
Visibly in pain as he stood on the side of the road, the rider quickly realised getting back on the bike was not an option and stepped away from racing for the last time, not with the hoped-for victory celebration but instead an injury.
“So just when I’m not watching the road, and with one hand on the handlebar, I hit bad tarmac, and I think my handlebar just turned. I flew over or I lost the handlebar. I’m not sure – one of two.”
However, there were still expected to be two last sprint finishes left for the rider and both had features that played to the Norwegian’s strengths. For a start, Saturday’s stage was the longest at 214.9km, perfect for the 2014 Milan-San Remo winner.
“Today is a long race,” Uno-X Mobility sports director Leonard Snoeks told…
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