Tour de France (Fra): Van Der Poel makes history
Could there be a stronger symbol? Mathieu Van Der Poel, 26 years old and racing his first Tour de France, succeeded where his grandfather Raymond Poulidor had always failed: taking the yellow jersey. The day after Julian Alaphilippe‘s victory in the first stage, the Dutch rider won at Mûr de Bretagne in a way that also earned him the yellow jersey. Inevitably, the first thoughts of the Dutch champion were for his grandfather the French hero, who died in November 2019. After three days of racing, Alpecin Fenix, which is racing the Grand Tours this year for the first time, won a second stage on Monday with Tim Merlier, who was already a winner on the roads of the Giro this May.
The general classification: 1. Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin Fenix); 2. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck Quick Step); 3. Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers)
Stages won by: Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck Quick Step); Mathieu Van Der Poel and Tim Merlier (Alpecin Fenix)
La course By Le Tour: Vollering gets another big win
It’s breakthrough season for Demi Vollering! Already the winner of Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April, the Dutchwoman of the SD Worx team is settling in among the world elite. At 24, she won La Course By Le Tour for the first time which was raced over the roads of Brittany. She will be a serious contender at the next Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile.
The results: 1. Demi Vollering (Team SD Worx); 2. Cécilie Ludwig Uttrup (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine); 3. Marianne Vos (Team Jumbo Visma Women)
*****
Axion SWISS Bank Gran Premio Città di Lugano: Moscon trakes the win
A two-time winner at the start of the season at the Tour of the Alps, Gianni Moscon proved he is back in top form by winning in Lugano. The Italian rider, who also raced the Giro d’Italia where his teammate Bernal won, took the 11th victory of his career, beating his compatriot Valerio Conti and the Belgian Ben Hermans.
The results: 1. Gianni Moscon (Ineos Grenadiers); 2. Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates); 3. Ben Hermans (Israël Start Up Nation)
*****
Giro dell’Appennino (Ita): Hermans gets his win
More than two years after his last victory, Ben Hermans (Israël Start Up Nation) found his way back to victory by winning the Giro dell’Appennino. The 35-year-old Belgian, who now has 16 wins in his career, won solo on Italian roads. Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates) and Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè) completed the podium.
The results: 1. Ben Hermans (Israël Start Up Nation); 2. Valerio Conti (UAE Team Emirates); 3. Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè)
*****
The races to come
Tour de France (Fra), 26/06-18/07, www.letourdefrance.fr
Giro d’Italia Internazionale Femminile (Ita), 2-11/07, www.giroditaliadonne.it