Alaphilippa was driven by ugly words. Evenepoel silenced critics of Merckx – PRAVDA.sk

Julian Alaphilipp’s victory in the mass start race at the World Road Cycling Championships was the result of the great legs of the old-new champion, but also of the great French team support.

Photo: TASR / AP, Olivier Matthys

Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe defends the title of world champion.

Florian Sénéchal, Benoit Cosnefroy and Valentin Madouas accompanied their leader until the decisive moments 50 km before the end of the race, when Alaphilippe tore the peloton with his activity and finally ended his quest for the second title with a triumphant solo ride.

“We set a tactic and the riders followed it in a great way.

I myself have only a small share in Julian’s victory and maybe I’m only disproportionately modest, “said French coach Thomas Voeckler on the Belgian sports website Sporza.

The former four-time stage winner of the Tour de France, known for his combativeness in long escapes, persuaded prominent French individuals to join Alaphilippa’s service, and this was a success on his travels in Flanders, Belgium.

The cycling world was particularly impressed by the way in which the French confronted the native Belgians, who almost admitted no other option than a title for their glorified universal Wout van Aert.

He finally came to the finish line with a deficit of 1:18 min on Alaphilippa and did not fit into the top ten.

And the Belgians finally lost the bronze medal, as Jasper Stuyven was not enough for Dan Michael Valgren.

“I tried to evoke a team spirit in the racers. I stressed to them that they must not deal with the fact that they want to defeat the Belgians at all costs. I tried to suppress the plan to destroy Van Aert and Evenepoel.

They were rivals like everyone else. Our biggest mistake would be to focus only on them.

It’s like football. If you want to conquer Paris Saint-Germain and deploy four players to Mbappé, the others will benefit. We definitely didn’t want this and in the end this tactic paid off, “Voeckler explained.

Peter Sagan came to the start of the World Championships in ...

When Voeckler asked Alaphilipp a month and a half ago how he saw it with the World Cup, he got the answer he liked.

“He wrote me exactly what I thought. We didn’t agree on just one or two words.

It was already a good basis for this huge success, which is now enjoyed by the whole of France, “added the winner of the mountaineering competition at the Tour de France nine years ago.

Alaphilippe admitted that he was also driven by Belgian fans behind the rainbow jersey.

“I think they put their hopes in Van Aert. Many asked me to slow down and not address me with nice words. That gave me extra motivation. Because of this, the triumph brought me double joy, “he told France24.

On the Belgian side, criticism from the legendary Eddy Merckx bowed before the race.

He called Remc Evenepoel, considered the greatest talent of contemporary cycling, as an unreliable teammate. He also questioned his nomination for Sunday’s race.

However, the 21-year-old turned 200 kilometers in front of Van Aert, protecting him from the wind and the various dangers that cyclists may face on the track.

“Julian caught up with his tactics. It was a fight and he went to war. As a team, we drove perfect races, only the result is not as we had hoped, “Evenepoel was quoted by foreign media.

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Peter Sagan, season

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