Special envoy to Mûr-de-Bretagne
Brittany is a land of legends in which cycling holds its place and this inaugural weekend of the Tour de France 2021 has just written a new golden page. On Saturday, Julian Alaphilippe, a young father of a little Nino, celebrated the birth of a new yellow jersey, the 18th of his career, by making all Landerneau resonate with his victory during the first stage. Sunday, the story was even more beautiful. Less than two years after the death of the most legendary French rider, Raymond Poulidor, who has become the symbol of magnificent losers, his grandson Mathieu Van der Poel offered himself this leader's jersey that his grandfather had never succeeded in wearing. endorse in fourteen participations, punctuated by eight podiums.
In 1973, our national "Poupou" had even failed less than 80 hundredths of this golden tunic which was part of the family curse.
From its very first participation, the new phenomenon of world cycling, already accustomed to extraordinary strokes, thus succeeded where this man to whom he so resembles had broken his teeth, even if the myth was built on these repeated failures.
"
It's a shame that my grandfather is not here
"
Little Mathieu, who discovered the Tour at 26, like “Poupou”, might have preferred to succeed the day before, where he initially wore a purple jersey similar to his ancestor's classic Mercier, but as he explains. , he had "
no legs
". "
It's a shame that my grandfather is not here, but there is nothing we can do about it,
" said the quadruple cyclo-cross world champion on arrival, who will undoubtedly not finish this Tour to compete. an Olympic mountain biking title in Tokyo.
“
I'm proud of the way I looked for the seconds in the first pass over the finish line and after, in the last climb, I knew it was my last chance to take that yellow jersey and that. it’s amazing that I’ve done it,
”says Van der Poel. The Dutchman, son of the former pro Adrie Van der Poel (who wore the yellow jersey one day in 1984 ...) and the daughter of Raymond Poulidor, indeed built his victory in two stages, appearing during the first ascent of the rise of Mûr in Brittany to pocket eight seconds of bonus, his lead today over Julian Alaphilippe in the general classification.
Yesterday he was disappointed and happy for me, today I'm disappointed and happy for him.
He deserves it, he's a very handsome jersey wearer
Julian Alaphilippe
Rebelote during the second and final climb of this monument of Breton cycling, where he rushed on the pedals to detach himself irreparably, before winning in front of the two Slovenian enemy brothers, Tadej Pogacar, the title holder, and Primoz Roglic .
“
Yesterday he was disappointed and happy for me, today I'm disappointed and happy for him.
He deserves it, he's a very handsome jersey wearer
, ”summarized Julian Alaphilippe.
Saturday, it was in the long steep slope of La Fosse aux Loups, on the heights of Landerneau, that the latter had made noise by swapping his rainbow tunic of world champion for that more usual of leader of the Tour, which he had already endorsed for fourteen days in 2019 and for three days last September.
Van der Poel had been a little "
blocked by stress
"
Launched in a long presumptuous assault nearly 2.5 km from the goal, he had allowed himself to drop all the other contenders for the first yellow jersey of this edition of the post-covid without flinching. Van der Poel was then a little "
blocked by stress
". Many others had immediately given up all hope in the two terrible falls of the first day: Miguel Angel Lopez, Simon Yates, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Dan Martin, Michael Woods, but also Chris Froome, four-time winner of the event and now abandoned road captain of a battered Israel Start Up Nation team.
Nowhere as well as in Brittany could the peloton dream of finding the general public. While respecting the most basic gestures of respect for the riders, as was unfortunately not the case on Saturday between Brest and Landerneau through the fault of an imprudent spectator.