Alexander Kristoff didn’t quite have the legs to sprint to a maiden Tour de France stage triumph but he secured a top three finish on Stage 18 on Thursday.

The UAE Team Emirates sprint king and European champion was well placed in the final metres of the finish into Pau, but had to settle for third behind the French duo of winner Arnaud Demare, of Groupama – FDJ, and Cofidis rider Christophe Laporte.

But the Norwegian capped off a strong team performance.  After being led in impressively by his teammates, Kristoff, who sits second in the race for the green jersey, battled hard in the closing kilometres to finish third.

It was a notable team effort from the Emirati formation, with the team’s riders controlling the pace of the peloton for a large portion of the race.

He is second in the points standings but remains some way behind leader Peter Sagan.

Commenting on his finish, Kristoff said: “I didn’t really have the legs in the final kilometre. The team did a lot of work, but unfortunately I did not have the fastest legs and that’s it. I hope in Paris I can win.”

The Norwegian now heads into the final three stages, vying to secure a podium place in the sprint classification.

The final day in the mountains is upon the peloton – and what a day it promises to be. There are no less than six categorised climbs on the 200km route from Lourdes to Laruns and the stage could be one of the highlights of what has been an exhilarating Tour de France.

Should a GC contender attack and succeed in gaining seconds on his rivals, it will make the penultimate day of racing – an Individual Time Trial on Saturday afternoon  – even more intriguing.