For the second time in a row, the Marseillaise sounded at the end of a World Cycling Championship.
With the same man as a hero, Julian Alaphilippe, 29, who validated his double rainbow on Sunday after a brilliantly led race in Belgium.
The striking figures of a resounding success.
đ«đ·đ MARSEILLAISE FOR JULIAN ALAPHILIPPE!
đ THE FRENCH WILL WEAR THE ARC-EN-CIEL JERSEY FOR THE SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR!
pic.twitter.com/3i1ot0vTLR
- francetvsport (@francetvsport) September 26, 2021
1. The
first two-time French road world champion, one year after Imola, Julian Alaphilippe has entered the history of French cycling.
10.
Alaphilippe offered France the tenth title of world champion in its history, after 1924, 1933, 1947, 1958, 1964, 1972, 1980, 1989 and 2000.
7.
Alaphilippe became the seventh man who succeeded in retaining his world crown.
Only Georges Ronsse, Rik Van Steenbergen, Rik Van Loy, Gianni Bugno, Paolo Bettini and Peter Sagan had managed to accomplish this feat before him.
17.
It was 17 kilometers before the end of the race that Alaphilippe built his victory, with a devastating acceleration on the difficult cobblestones of the CĂŽte de Saint-Antoine.
32.
It was the number of seconds that separated Alaphilippe from his group of pursuers at the finish, the Dutchman Dylan Van Baarle, the Dane Michael Valgren, the Belgian Jasper Stuyven and the American Neilson Powless.
9.
The French team led by Thomas Voeckler managed to place a second rider in the top 10 with Florian Sénéchal, finally ninth.
Valentin Madouas finished in thirteenth place.
9a.
Alaphilippe's success was only made possible thanks to a lot of French work around him.
France was thus the most represented team with nine riders entered.
In addition to the neo-double world champion, the blue squadron was made up of Florian Sénéchal, Arnaud Démare, Christophe Laporte, Benoßt Cosnefroy, Rémi Cavagna, Valentin Madouas, Clément Russo and Anthony Turgis.
3?.
Never two without three, the saying goes.
Will Alaphilippe be able to do it again next year in Wollongong, Australia?
In the meantime, the runner of Saint-Amand-Montrond will be able to savor twelve well-deserved months, adorned with rainbow.