With a final stage ridden in a Garibaldian style, taking advantage of the many strong climbers brought to Arabia, Uno-X Mobility completely overturned the AlUla Tour general classification, placing three of their riders in the top four positions: Fredrik Dversnes (2nd), Ådne Holter (4th), and Johannes Kulset (3rd). The latter, as a personal cherry on top, also took the white jersey for best young rider in the Saudi race, an appointment that the 2004 Oslo native and his entire Norwegian team (not by chance first in the team classification at the end of the last stage) had carefully prepared and then interpreted in the best possible way.
White jersey, best team of this AlUla Tour, and three of you in the top four of the general classification: what value does this good start to the season have?
"It means a lot. It's proof that I've used the winter well and taken another step forward. In the last training camp we did a week before this race, I felt that my level was significantly higher than before. Additionally, our new materials are incredibly fast. I mean, I weigh 60 kilos and I feel like I can push better than someone who weighs 80, so I believe that component counts a lot. Overall, it's been a crazy week and we should be very satisfied with this start."
Did you anticipate that the stage would go this way?
"Yes, we thought it would go like this. The day before yesterday, Fredrik told me not to stress about how the fourth stage would go because, yes, it would be important for the general classification, but it could count for everything or nothing because today's stage would be decisive, and we saw that. The group broke up after just 20 km and the chase began. My teammates pulled incredibly, the energy and engine that Abrahamsen and Wallin put in were crazy. Jayco and Kepplinger were unlucky with punctures and had to use a lot of energy at the beginning to chase, while we could simply stay on wheels. In the finale, we were in an excellent position and gave our all. The communication was fantastic, and I believe our timing was perfect. The directors Max and Gino really worked out an excellent plan."
What are your plans now?
"I'll go home for a day to see my girlfriend, who had her birthday yesterday. Then I'll do three weeks at altitude before going directly to O Gran Camino and, following that, Paris-Nice. At that point, we'll see if I'll do some important races or some smaller events. In any case, starting like this is fantastic."
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