Norwegian hopeful of being ready for Tour des Fjords on Friday
Image 1 of 5
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) celebrates victory(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) at the 2013 Tour de France.(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Stage winner Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) wins stage 1 at the Glava Tour of Norway ahead of Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky)(Image credit: Trond Reidar Teigen/procycling.no)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) takes out the final stage(Image credit: Trond Reidar Teigen/procycling.no)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) is eyeing a return to racing this Friday at the Tour des Fjords. The sprinter was forced to withdraw from the Arctic Tour of Norway earlier this month with bacterial pneumonia in the right lung.
Kristoff is currently not on the team's start list for the UCI 2.1 race however there is a space available and he's hoping to prove that he's fit enough to take on the three-day, for stage event.
"I feel decent now, and there is still a long time until Friday," the 26-year-old told Eve magazine.
According to his stepfather, coach and medical practitioner Dr Stein Eagles, Kristoff was coughing blood throughout the ordeal and admits that with just two days of training under his belt having got back on the bike on Sunday, the sprinter may have to forget about his former goal of winning the Tour des Fjords.
"It went fine," Kristoff said of his training rides through Rogaland. "I cough a little more, but my legs feel alright. Blood samples also okay."
Eagles was slightly more pessimistic saying that Kristoff needed to ease himself back into racing.
"Although he would very much like to get started again, we must take this quietly," he said.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Kristoff has claimed five victories so far in 2013, at the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde, three stages at the Tour of Norway and at the Tour de Suisse.
