Norwegian completes domination of Three Days of De Panne
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Alexander Kristoff celebrates his overall win at De Panne.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) gives the thumbs up to his overall win.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) in the leader's jersey.(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) collects more prizes(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Alexander Kristoff celebrates his win.(Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) (Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
As wearer of the leader’s jersey at the Three Days of De Panne, Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) was obliged to turn up for the morning leg of the race’s final split stage at an hour when the majority of his Tour of Flanders rivals were still sleeping soundly in their hotels.
It was past 1am before Kristoff’s eyes had fallen shut the previous night – “Normally I can never sleep before 1 anyway,” he grimaced – but although he lined up for the start on barely six hours of rest, he figured that, well, he might as well win.
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Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
