Löwen (dpa) – Julian Alaphilippe enjoyed his next gold coup full of joy. In the passenger seat of the team car, the man in the rainbow jersey grooved to “I just can’t enough” by Depeche Mode, the great triumph in cycling-crazy Belgium further cemented the Frenchman’s status as a sporting great.
“Last year was a dream for me. I was very motivated to repeat this triumph,” said Alaphilippe, who won in Imola 2020 and Leuven 2021 in a similar way – namely with a furious solo in the final phase of the World Cup Road race.
The Belgian audience, who wanted to see the favorite Wout van Aert win, reacted angrily to the top sporting performance of the 29-year-old Alaphilippe. Already at the finish line a few beer mugs flew in the direction of the route, even after that the atmosphere of the charged Belgian audience did not necessarily become friendlier.
“There were many supporters of the Belgians and they asked me to slow down. They weren’t particularly nice words, but it gave me more motivation,” said Alaphilippe, who won ahead of the Dutchman Dylan van Baarle and Michael Valgren from Denmark . The highly ambitious local heroes around van Aert and super talent Remco Evenepoel went away empty-handed despite the massive fan support.
BDR is still waiting for titles in the road race
This also applied to the team of the Association of German Cyclists (BDR). Captain Nils Politt acted courageously, but his early attacks did not pay off. “I drove aggressively, but on the climbs my legs didn’t get the pressure on the pedals that I wanted. It didn’t work at the crucial points,” said the Cologne driver, who finished 16th. Sprinter Pascal Ackermann and classic driver Maximilian Schachmann got out early, veteran John Degenkolb suffered minor injuries in a violent fall.
In road racing, the BDR has been waiting for a professional title since Rudi Altig in 1966 and a medal since André Greipel in 2011. But this time there were other experiences of success in the days of Flanders. In addition to two junior medals, mixed gold in particular shone in the last professional race of veteran Tony Martin. In addition to the 36-year-old, Nikias Arndt, Max Walscheid, Mieke Kröger, Lisa Klein and Lisa Brennauer were part of the season that won in Bruges. In the previous year, the BDR left Italy without a World Cup medal.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210926-99-371191 / 4
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