Far from being the favorite at the start of the 117th edition two years ago, Nils Politt comes very close to the feat on Paris-Roubaix. The German finally bowed only to the sprint on the velodrome against Philippe Gilbert. In a twist of history, the two men had already found themselves at the front the previous year on the Hell of the North, finishing in a promising seventh place, just ahead of the Belgian. His appetite for the classics is also confirmed by pretty places of honor: 5th in the Tour of Flanders 2019 or 6th in the GP E3. “I’ll be there this year again,” he warns, eager to do battle on October 3, after the queen of classics was canceled last year.
>> READ ALSO: 12th stage: victory for Nils Politt alone in Nîmes
Yet his first participation had been disastrous
When he discovered Paris-Roubaix, among the hopefuls in 2015, the German was going through a real ordeal. Politt fell five times and was forced to retire. However, upon arrival, he lets his father know: “It’s a race that I love and that I can win. “
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He is a great roller
If he proved it again this Thursday by isolating himself at the front 12 kilometers from the finish, Nils Politt is a formidable rider. German hopeful champion of the specialty in 2014, beaten by Tony Martin at the senior level in 2016 and 2017, Politt likes the solitary effort, well helped by his large carcass of 1.92m. He notably finished second in the Paris-Nice stopwatch at Barbentane in 2019.
He comes from the same city as André Greipel
A nod to history: the city of Hürth, a few kilometers from Cologne, had two representatives in the breakaway this Friday with Nils Politt but also André Greipel. “Having a guy like André in my environment is very appreciable, he taught me a lot”, he confided this Friday after his success. The city has also long welcomed the family of Michael Schumacher.
