Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) took his first ever win in a WorldTour race when he outsprinted Peter Sagan (Cannondale) in the tough uphill finish to stage four of the Tour de Suisse. The Norwegian still hopes to perform well in the remaining two sprint stages in the race but has his sight firmly set on his debut Tour de France.

For more than a year, Alexander Kristoff has been one of the most consistent sprinters on the WorldTour but until today a win in the most prestigious races had always escaped. He had some close on a number of occasion and won a number of smaller races but the big win had always eluded him.

That all changed in today's fourth stage of the Tour de Suisse as the Norwegian showed his immense power on the tough uphill finish to beat no less of a figure than Peter Sagan in a head-to-head battle on completely equal terms. The win continues his recent progression that has seen him win sprints for minor places in the Milan-Sanremo, Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and GP Gippingen while also picking up a stage in the Diredaagse van de Panne and three in his home race, the Tour of Norway.

Kristoff struggled to find a new team when he was told by BMC prior to the 2012 season that his contract would not be renewed. Katusha gave him a lifeline and he has repeatedly stressed his gratefulness to the Russian team.

Today he gave the squad an extra reason to celebrate on a day that was already a special one.

"I'm very happy with this victory," he said. "It's the fifth win of my 2013, I'm living a great season. I also know that today it's the Independence Day in Russia: I'm happy I gave them another reason to celebrate. Once again I have to thank my teammates: they did a great job, and I was in the best position in order to win."

Kristoff has raced the Giro d'Italia but has still not made his debut in the Tour de France. That is set to change later this month as his strong performances will likely earn him a place in the Katusha line-up for the race.

Hence, today's win was a good sign with the big objective fastly approaching.

"This performance confirms I'm in the good way to my top shape," he said. "Obviously my goal is to take part in the Tour de France at my best, but I still want to make some other good performance here in Switzerland."

Kristoff has another two chances to show off his speed as both tomorrow's and Saturday's stages could very well end in a sprint. Starting at 16.55, you can follow tomorrow's stage on CyclingQuotes.com/live.