The East Tyrolean could even rise to the podium in the Tour de France. His current team could be a possible mortgage.
Victories or similar exploits by Austrians in the Tour de France are a rarity. It is therefore not surprising that the excitement about Felix Gall is enormous these days and will probably continue for a while. It may even increase in the years to come. Because the East Tyrolean showed several times on his debut in the Tour of France that he can play in the concert of the greats.
That’s why quite a few former cycling heroes, companions and other experts predict a glorious future for the 25-year-old with great euphoria. It remains to be seen whether he will actually soon be able to take up the fight with the top stars for the overall podium places. After all, the gifted climber also has weaknesses. The time trials on flat terrain, which he left out to his advantage this time, are part of this. His AG2R team, which is not consistently well staffed, could also prove to be a disadvantage in comparison to the top racing teams that are top-class for their aces.
Queen’s stage as the crowning glory
That hasn’t stopped Gall from several red-white-red tour superlatives in the past three weeks. The ex-junior world champion made the republic, which had suddenly once again become a cycling nation, happy with, among other things, victory on the queen’s stage. Two more podium finishes in the mountains, his eighth place in the final classification and second place in the mountains classification have not yet been achieved by an Austrian on a tour in more than 100 years of history.
Gall has always belonged to the extended world elite, but he only really took off this spring. Nobody expected that he would catapult himself so high on the biggest possible stage. Neither does Gall himself, so even he comments on what has been achieved with a certain incredulity.
However, the danger that success could go to his head is small. The down-to-earth golf enthusiast analyzes what is happening in a reflective and modest manner from a certain distance. With this character he should be able to successfully master the next big tasks, supported by his family and his French trainer. The broader chest of the excellent tour premiere will make the many hardships and pains that await him in the hard training before the next edition a little easier.
His recent contract extension until the end of 2025 secures Gall’s financial future in the long term. But his famous tour would only be gilded by a premature team change, after all his market value has recently increased as rapidly as his performance curve. Gall mainly attributes this to his preparation for the season, which finally went well without illness. “Nobody could have foreseen the development this year, I no longer have any problems even on the long mountains. I’ve always been able to train thoroughly, have a good training volume that is significantly higher than in recent years, so you have the substance and stamina for consistent performance,” explained Gall.
The eternal question of credibility
The dominators Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, who drove even better than Gall, had to ask themselves questions of credibility during the tour. The duo wiped doubts off the table on behalf of the much-cited “new generation”. Everything is going right, their performance data is transparent and comprehensible. The fans, who have been plagued by a number of scandals in the recent past, want to believe them, but they have been disappointed by scammers far too often in the past. In this country, too, the list of prominent sinners is quite long, starting with Bernhard Kohl through Stefan Denifl, Georg Preidler and Christian Pfannberger.
2023-07-24 11:00:55
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