Norwegian Kristoff Gambles And Goes Too Early

Chris Froome’s win of the Tour de France might have already been ordained by his efforts in earlier stages but the final sprint for the line in Paris was Kristoff’s big chance for a stage win and he blew it

For a moment in the last few hundred metres of the Tour de France those who like to bet on sports in Norway, and who probably had a sly wager on their cycling star Alexander Kristoff, must have thought they were in with a shout. The 28 year old from Oslo was amongst the front of the pack coming down the Champs-Elysees and as the sprinters all jostled for position the ghastly road conditions (it had rained) looked set to be a factor in the bun-fight ahead.

Kristoff Pipped At Post

• Grabs third in final stage
• Froome wins Le Tour
• Doping still haunts cycling

Seen from the ubiquitous helicopter camera angle the pack was set up for a dramatic finish as they turned right and put their heads down, but as with all cycling sprint finishes, it’s all a matter of timing and unfortunately Kristoff didn’t quite get it right. Whether he went too early or not will be a debate he’ll be having with himself for some time to come, but amongst that field it was always going to be difficult for Norway’s star rider.

The slippery surface had already caused a couple of riders to go down, one of whom looked dramatically incapacitated, and perhaps that need to be wary was at the back of his mind, but when he went, he really put it all in to the finish. The stage win could have been his, were it not for the Frenchman Bryan Coquard being determined to win the most symbolic stage of “Le Tour” just clearing his front wheel with seconds to go…….but this wasn’t to be Coquard’s day either.

Kristoff Beaten In Final Sprint

In front of a home crowd Coquard was probably gambling news headlines the next day would feature his name, that the front pages would carry pictures of his smiling face, a French hero taking the final stage win available, a moment he’d treasure forever, but it was not to be. Andre Greipel, riding for Lotto, managed to find reserves of power like the natural sprinter he is and by a tiny margin whizzed over the finish line just ahead of the Frenchman.

Alexander Kristoff came in third on the stage, his tour not as successful as he or his Katusha team would have liked, however the determination he displayed throughout will keep his name amongst the biggest threats to anyone else’s chances in the classics to come later in the year. He’ll replay that last few hundred metres in Paris over and over, looking to see what he missed, where he should have let fly, and that analysis will only make him a more dangerous competitor.

Kristoff will be back, as will Nairo Quintana who took the White jersey for the second (and last) time as the Colombian rider finished the entire tour only 1 minute and 12 seconds behind the winner in a valiant second place. At 25 he’ll be too old to compete for that jersey next time round, but you have to expect him to be making an even more determined effort to grab the prized yellow jersey of a Tour winner in 2016. The question is, will Froome be back to defend his title?

Froome Zooms Home A Winner

Chris Froome, riding for Team Sky romped home to a second Tour de France win in 84 hours, 46 minutes and 14 seconds, which meant he rode the 3,360km race at an average of nearly forty kilometers per hour, which is quite the feat considering a lot of that is up mountains I’d not try ascending without ropes and oxygen. After his victory he said he would “never dishonor” the yellow jersey or the Tour, but the Tour hasn’t really honored him.

Spat on and abused by spectators, accused of doping by the French media (who to be fair aren’t supposed to like English cyclists winning their premier cycling event), and facing the sort of pressure from home that only the British tabloid press can exert on someone already trying their best, Froome’s tour was a victory against distraction, if not the odds quoted on ComeOn! Sportsbook that had him down as probable winner almost from the off, and he’ll probably be back next year to do it again.

Whilst Froome and Quintana might return to do battle once more in the best advert for French tourism yet devised (oooh look at the pweeettty landscapes) Alexander Kristoff probably has other more short term goals, most especially the Giro di Lombardia, and if you’re Norwegian gambling laws of averages means his loss in France will be his gain in Italy you really should consider backing the big man as he takes on the last “Monument” cycling race of the year.