Tour of Slovakia: Kristoff wins stage 1a

(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) took victory on the opening stage of the Tour of Slovakia, taking the race lead as he beat the Deceuninck-QuickStep duo of Michael Mørkøv and Elia Viviani in a bunch sprint.

Groupama-FDJ and Deceuninck-QuickStep controlled the stage, the first of two on Wednesday, for much of the day, ensuring that the early break wouldn't stay away to contest the finish.

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#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates	3:21:48
2	Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
3	Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
4	Erik Baška (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe
5	Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
6	Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Cycling Academy
7	Emils Liepinš (Lat) Wallonie-Bruxelles
8	Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk	0:00:04
9	Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles
10	Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep	0:00:08

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General classification
#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates	3:21:42
2	Michael Mørkøv (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep	0:00:02
3	Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep	0:00:04
4	Erik Baška (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe	0:00:06
5	Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
6	Rudy Barbier (Fra) Israel Cycling Academy
7	Emils Liepinš (Lat) Wallonie-Bruxelles
8	Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk	0:00:10
9	Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Roompot-Charles
10	Yves Lampaert (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep	0:00:14

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, joining in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel. Their favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.

Season highlights from the 2024 season include reporting from Paris-Roubaix – 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.