"As a young kid I always dreamed of winning in Flanders and now the dream has come true," said Katusha rider Alexander Kristoff at the conclusion of his brilliant win in Sunday’s Ronde van Vlaanderen. Coming under the 1 km to go banner, Kristoff was in the lead with only Niki Terpstra on the wheel. A ramp-up of speed with 50 meters to go and Alexander Kristoff took his second win of a cycling monument after his 2014 victory in Milano – Sanremo. Kristoff is the first Norwegian to win the Tour of Flanders. 

"I was a little bit nervous at the end when Niki stopped working. I was afraid the group behind us would catch us, so I just kept up a high speed. I knew if I kept a good speed, but not 100%, that I could still do a good sprint. This has been a great week; it really could not be better," said Alexander Kristoff, referring to his three stage wins and overall victory in last week’s 3 Days of De Panne. 

Kristoff’s win marks his tenth of the season and 14th for Team Katusha, eight of them coming in the last nine days. Joining him on the podium were Niki Terpstra (Etixx – Quick Step) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC). The race was 264 km from Brugge to Oudenaarde and took place under clear skies in the fields of Flanders. 

"This is a great success for the team and we’re so proud to give this victory to Mr. Makarov on his birthday today. We thank him for his patience and for his support of our team. We’re super happy and super motivated," said general manager Viacheslav Ekimov after the win. 

"I knew to follow Niki when he went. Once we got away we worked well together and I convinced him to work with me to the finish, knowing the worst he would get was second place. He tried to drop me on the Kwaremont and I was suffering there, but I’m actually quite good in these cobbled climbs.  I felt I had him under control on the Paterberg, but in truth you never know. I didn’t let him go because I knew he was strong. I’m happy I managed to go with him and no one came up behind us.  I’m a fast finisher so I’m happy I could win. And I am really happy I could bring this victory to the team on the birthday of Mr. Makarov," said Kristoff. 

With the last 60 km packed with difficult cobbled climbs, Kristoff knew the opportunity to breakaway would come early. When Niki Terpstra surged ahead on the Kruisberg, Alexander Kristoff saw the move was a solid one and quickly responded with an effort of his own. The duo worked well together as a few riders mounted a chase from behind, but general disorganization kept anyone from gaining much ground once the gap was established. Coming into the finale Terpstra stayed in the wheel, forcing Kristoff to work from the front, but the Norwegian had plenty of strength to sprint for the win with 50 meters to go. 

"Alex has talked about this for days, saying it has always been a dream of his to win here. He came ready to go for it. We’ve worked hard in the team these past years to come to this point, both with the riders and the management. It was a really open final but after the Kruisberg you could see this would be the group. Alex is a smart rider and knew what to look for," said sports director Torsten Schmidt.