Tinkoff-Saxo missed out on the sprint decision at the opening stage of Tour of Britain, where Elia Viviani took the win. Tinkoff-Saxo’s designated sprinter, Michael Mørkøv, remains the team’s front figure for the coming fast stages, while the squad will look for options in the breakaway.

After the conclusion of stage 1 of Tour of Britain, team sports director Nicki Sørensen notes that the day didn’t turn out as planned but that the squad will draw the necessary lessons ahead of the stages to come.

“We could say that nt much happened for Tinkoff-Saxo in the opening stage of Tour of Britain. It was a sprinters stage. Our strategy today was focused on Michael Mørkøv but, unfortunately, it didn't play out the way we had planned and as a result, we didn't get the result we wanted. Ideally, Mørkøv would have been placed in a good position with 2km to go but that didn't happen. We drew the lessons and if another stage comes down to a sprint finish we will be better prepared to tackle it”, says Nicki Sørensen.

The inaugural stage 1 from Anglesey to Wrexham unwrapped the eight-day long race with a 177.7km mostly flat parcours. As the break was caught, the sprinters went toe to toe with Viviani claiming the win, while Mørkøv took 26th place. With a similar race profile for Monday’s ordeals, Sørensen finds it likely that the stage will come down to another bunch sprint although the team will look opportunities to claim the stage from the breakaway.

“We will adapt our strategy accordingly and we will play our cards widely. Tomorrow, we will focus on the breakaway and if it goes down to a bunch sprint, it will be Michael again who will get the support from the squad and we will try to position him so that he can aim for a good result. I remain positive about the rest of the week and we will take one stage at a time”, finishes Nicki Sørensen.