Imola 2020 - Julian Alaphilippe: Becoming World Champion was one of my biggest dreams
Sep 28 2020 03:33 am CET
Photo of Julian Alaphilippe © Mary Cárdenas / CyclingPub.com
France's Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) has taken the victory at the road race of the World Championships, a win he took after wearing the Yellow Jersey in the Tour de France for three stages.
The Frenchman -who topped the overall classification at the 2020 Tour de France from the second to the fourth stages- launched an attack with twelve kilometres at the last section of the Cima Gallisterna -just outside the Imola circuit in Italy. The rider managed to create a gap with the chasers and crossed the finish line on his own, before Wout van Aert and Marc Hirschi.
"At this moment it's really difficult to say something," said an emotional Alaphilippe at the end of the race. "First and foremost, I want to say thank you to all my extraordinary teammates, who believed in me today, rode at the front and chased down all the attacks, and really believed in me. Becoming World Champion was one of my biggest dreams. In the past, I came close, but I was never on the podium. Today, everything went perfectly and I could turn into reality this dream of mine."
The Frenchman -who is the first rider of his country to take the win after Laurent Brochard did it in 1997- dedicated this victory to his late father. "It's hard for me to describe how I am feeling right now, there are so many things I think of now, so many feelings," he explained. "This is my greatest victory, a win which I promised to my father I will get one day.
"Once I attacked with 12 kilometers to go and opened a gap, I was focused on staying at the front and going close to my limit. When I arrived alone at the finish, I couldn't believe that my dream came true. The coveted rainbow jersey is the most beautiful one in cycling and to know that I will wear it for twelve months gives me huge pride."
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEEDS