Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) is reportedly weighing a three-year contract to close out his career, with Norwegian TV2 reporting that the 34-year-old is planning to sign with his home country’s ProTeam, Uno-X.
Kristoff moved to Intermarché after four years with UAE Team Emirates on a one-year contract, having weight retirement if results didn’t come this season. After struggling in 2021 and not making the Tour de France team alongside eventual winner Tadej Pogačar, Kristoff made the move to Intermarché with compatriot Sven Erik Bystrøm for 2022.
After a victory in the Clasica de Almeria and Scheldeprijs, along with podiums in Milano-Torino, Eschborn-Frankfurt and the GP du Morbihan, Kristoff won a stage of the Tour of Norway and is headed to the Tour de France.
Kristoff’s arrival at the nascent WorldTeam helped to boost the team’s profile, and the momentum has carried the Belgian outfit out of the relegation zone and they look set to remain in the WorldTour in 2023.
Uno-X, however, have not enjoyed nearly as much success, and their bid to join the WorldTour looks unlikely given the UCI’s sporting criteria, which limits the top tier to the 18 best teams across the 2020-2022 seasons.
The official transfer window opens on August 1 but Kristoff told TV 2 that he has had offers from both Intermarché and Uno-X. “It is not clear what I will choose, but I suppose I will have signed somewhere before the Tour de France. I may stay, but we have not fully agreed with Intermarché yet, and at the same time I am considering other offers as well.”
Kristoff’s arrival would not change Uno-X’s chances of making the WorldTour in 2023, but with the UCI stipulating that the top two ProTeams earn automatic invitations to the major races, it could guarantee the Norwegian team an entry to the Tour de France in future years and a chance at promotion to the WorldTour in the promotion/relegation round in 2026.
“It is a small level down compared to where I am now, but at the same time it is impressive to see what they have achieved,” Kristoff said of the Uno-X team on Friday. “They have shown themselves very well and do not get lost in big races like the Critérium du Dauphiné. So it’s definitely an exciting alternative. In any case, this is an important decision for me. I’m at the end of my career and this may soon be the last contract I sign.”
