After finishing the Volta ao Algarve sprint, Alexander Kristoff vented his anger on Jordi Meeus from Bora-Hansgrohe, who apparently stole his chances of winning. Due to this frustration and anger, Kristoff also hit some spectators.
The sprint was going all good for Kristoff when he was behind Fabio Jakobsen (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) but that was until Jordi Meeus closed off all of Kristoff’s chances from the side of the road. It was a bad move, to say the least, and that is when Kristoff waved his arm in protest and sheer anger.
This scenario captured the attention of the race judges and they slammed Jordi Meeus to the back of the group. Eventually, Kristoff came third and Bryan Coquard came second. Despite of everything that happened, Kristoff did not go down that easily and he also regretted hitting the spectators in frustration.
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The third place and standing on the podium was not enough for Alexander Kristoff, he was still evaluating what could have been if Meeus did not interrupt him. Kristoff said to the media:
I felt good and I felt that maybe I could have been close but I had to stop pedaling.
For me, he changed the line. I was coming on the left side and I had a clear line. But then he moved me into the barrier and I hit a lot of spectators with my shoulder, so I’m not very happy about it.
Below you can see a video that was posted online, it can be clearly seen that Kristoff hit some spectators and even knocked a person’s cell out of his hand.
📵 #VAlgarve2022 pic.twitter.com/fX6KiJEQkt
— Javier Gilabert C. (@tourdegila) February 16, 2022
As there are always two sides to a story, Jordi Meeus stood his ground and said that he did not change the line at all. Meeus said in a team statement:
We worked well the whole day, and in the end, we have been in the right position to avoid the crash. the boys helped me perfect to catch the wheel of Jakobsen, but today I didn’t have the legs to challenge him.
Still, I was happy with the result, because after Saudi I lost a few days of training because I didn’t feel well. To get relegated afterward was the wrong decision I believe. I didn’t change line and felt we rode a normal sprint. Anyway, I have to accept the decision and I’ll try to fight back in the next few days.
How the situation unfolded, there were not many options for Alexander Kristoff and his team, there was nothing they could do against QuickStep-AlphaVinyl.
Kristoff stated:
It was a technical sprint with all the roundabouts and I was a little bit too far back, we didn’t manage to get in front of QuickStep, and unfortunately at the end, when you’re a bit behind, there’s always a risk you get blocked.
No matter what happens next, Kristoff is going to have a lot of sprint opportunities. He can most certainly redeem himself and become better the next time around. Stay tuned for more updates!
Also Read: Toon Aerts Pleads Innocence After Banned Drug Found In Doping Test
Featured Image Via Instagram/kristoff87
