Alexander Kristoff was forced to walk the final portion of the Hatta Dam climb of the UAE Tour, after snapping the rear of his Colnago frame clean in half.
The Norwegian powerhouse walked up part of the brutal 400m climb on stage four, after a major mechanical took him out of contention.
It appears that the UAE Team Emirates rider’s derailleur broke during the dash for the line after he was caught in an earlier crash, and snapped his frame in the process.
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In an Instagram post after the stage, Kristoff said: “A lot of sand on the road today in the UAE Tour.
“I was involved in a crash five or six kilometres from the finish, my bike got banged up a bit and in the finish climb it broke unfortunately.
“Anyone, I used a lot of energy to get back in the pack in the last 5km so would not have been able to beat Caleb Ewan.”
Pictures posted on social media after the stage show Kristoff’s frame snapped clean in half during the incident.
Kristoff rides a Colnago Concept, the Italian brand’s first ever aero race setup.
The bike was designed using a wind tunnel to reduce the drag, making it a rapid machine for sprinters.
Team-mate Fernando Gaviria and Kristoff were involved in a crash in the closing stages, with the latter’s bike being hit from behind.
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His team said that Kristoff changed gears in the final, triggering a whip effect in the rear derailleur, which was out of alignment due to the earlier crash.
Kristoff is currently riding in the UAE Tour in support of his Colombian team-mate Gaviria.
But the stage four sprint to Hatta Dam, a short climb that hits gradients of 17 per cent, was Kristoff’s opportunity to fight for victory.
The the frame snap took him out of the battle, as Lotto-Soudal’s Caleb Ewan blasted past his rivals to take the win.
