The Norwegian champion was forced to abandon the race during the penultimate stage of his final professional race.
A decidedly bitter end to his career for Alexander Kristoff , who had to prematurely end his last race as a professional due to a fall during the seventh stage of the Tour de Langkawi .
The Norwegian rider from the UNO-X Mobility team crashed about 110 km from the finish line, on a straight, dry stretch, along with his teammate Erlend Blikra. While Blikra managed to get up and rejoin the group, Kristoff was in too much pain to continue.
A cruel epilogue for the 38-year-old, who had come to Malaysia aiming to end his extraordinary career on a high note , hoping to increase his tally of victories from 98 to 100 before Sunday's conclusion. He had come close to victory in the third stage, beaten by just centimeters by Matteo Malucelli (XDS-Astana) in a photo-finish.
The stage was won by American Zeb Kyffin of Team Unibet Tietema Rocket , ahead of Malaysian Muhammad Bin Rosli (Terengganu Cycling Team) and Dutchman Arvid De Kleijn (Tudor). A long stage, 214.9 km, which seemed particularly suited to the characteristics of the winner of the 2014 Milan-Sanremo. As sports director Leonard Snoeks stated before the start:
'It's a long race and Alex usually gives his best when he gets past the 200-kilometer mark, that's when he shines.'Unfortunately, fate wanted otherwise, denying Kristoff the chance for one last triumph and forcing him to end his brilliant career with a retirement rather than the hoped-for victory.
