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"Alaphilippe and van der Poel look simple, open": spectators await the stars in the mountains

2021-07-03T16:12:19.619Z


Despite the rain, the spectators, already present for many hours, awaited their champions in Le Grand-Bornand, this Saturday, before


It is raining on Grand-Bornand.

Under their caps or hoods, silhouettes are gradually massing around the finish line.

It is a little after 1:30 p.m. and, 150 km away, the riders have just set off to tackle this 8th stage, the first foray into the mountains in this Grande Boucle already rich in emotions and twists and turns.

Anthony, an amateur cyclist, left his car a little further away.

The 40-year-old is in position with his son Mylan, Julian Alaphilippe's world champion jersey on his back.

“I'm from Thonon-les-Bains so as soon as the Tour passes through the Alps, I come to see it,” he explains.

This year, we are served.

I found the start to be catastrophic with all these crashes, but from a sporting point of view, it is really very interesting.

Mathieu van der Poel did some great numbers.

I wonder if he has not done too much, if yesterday (Editor's note: Friday, between Vierzon and Le Creusot), it was not a bit the final bouquet.

If he wants to shine at the Olympic Games at the end of July in mountain biking, he will probably have to stop there.

Anthony would put a little play on a hit by Guillaume Martin in Le Grand-Bornand.

Alaphilippe in everyone's mouth

Emmanuel and Catherine, a couple in their fifties from Voiron, in Isère, cross their fingers for the world champion. "We are at the weekend and we did not want to miss it, especially since one of our sons is working in Grand-Bornand this summer," explains Emmanuel, team leader in the industry. I discovered the Tour when I was a child and I spent my holidays here. Now I am coming with my wife and children. We hope Julian Alaphilippe will win it one day. "

The name of Alaphilippe returns in all mouths. That of van der Poel, then, in second position. Their exploits in the early days eclipsed all others. "They touch us because they seem close to us," says Caroline, in her thirties from Strasbourg, on vacation in the area with friends. They are champions but they seem simple, open, without artifice. If it weren't for the Covid-19, we say to ourselves that they would be affordable. So we support them. It feels good to see that there are things like the Tour that outlast everything. "

Source: leparis

All sports articles on 2021-07-03

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