Kristoff ends career on a sour note: crash in Tour of Langkawi prevents him from securing 100th victory

Earlier this year, Kristoff won a stage in the Ruta del Sol and the Arctic Race of Norway, leaving him needing two more victories to reach his coveted 100th win. He had already announced his retirement after this season, so time was running out. With six sprint opportunities, the Tour of Langkawi seemed the ideal place to complete his mission.

Earlier this week, the 38-year-old Beer came very close: he narrowly lost the victory in the third stage to Matteo Malucelli (XDS-Astana). He also finished fifth in the first and sixth stages. However, stage 7 seemed tailor-made for him. “Today is a long race,” Uno-X team leader Leonard Snoeks told Cyclingnews. “So he's usually good when it comes across above 200k, that's usually when he wakes up.”

With 215 kilometers to go, the Norwegian would have had an advantage over his rivals, but unfortunately, it didn't materialize: halfway through the race, Kristoff crashed. The road was dry, straight, and wide, but a crash involving fellow sprinter and teammate Erlend Blikra could not be avoided. Blikra was able to continue, but Kristoff remained standing, his face contorted with pain.

It soon became clear that he could not continue. So that dream 100th victory will not come to pass for Kristoff: his career ends in a crash at least, if he does not change his mind. It would not be the first time that a sprinter has come out of retirement to complete a significant mission. Just look at Mark Cavendish and his 35th Tour victory...