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Tour de France: Van der Poel claims yellow jersey
Updated On: 28 June, 2021 08:26 AM IST | Mur-de-Bretagne (France) | AFP
After winning on his first Tour de France, Van der Poel dropped to the tarmac gasping for breath before weeping with his hands covering his face as the weight of Poulidor`s historic legacy was lifted on two dramatic ascents of the same hill, the Mur-de-Bretagne.
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Mathieu van der Poel of Netherlands celebrates as he crosses the finish line at the end of the 2nd stage of the 108th edition of the Tour de France cycling race, 183 km between Perros-Guirrec and Mur de Bretagne Guerledan. Pic/AFP
Mathieu Van der Poel won stage 2 of the Tour de France on Sunday to claim the overall leader`s yellow jersey and strike a blow for his famous cycling family. The Dutch 25-year-old is the grandson of late French cycling icon Raymond Poulidor, a regular on the Tour de France podium and beloved of French fans despite never wearing the fabled yellow jersey. After winning on his first Tour de France, Van der Poel dropped to the tarmac gasping for breath before weeping with his hands covering his face as the weight of Poulidor`s historic legacy was lifted on two dramatic ascents of the same hill, the Mur-de-Bretagne. "Imagine how he`d feel, he`s not here," said van der Poel of Poulidor who died in 2019 at the age of 83.
Poulidor raced the Tour de France 14 times, ending it second three times and third five times. His great rival Jacques Anquetil won the Tour five times, but French roadside fans still loved Poulidor. A generation of French children learned to cycle to the encouraging cry of `vas y Poupou` a catchphrase using Poulidor`s nickname as a term of encouragement. Poulidor worked with the Tour de France main sponsor (LCL bank) who dressed him in yellow until his death, and attracted as many fans as ever on his final Tour with his personal touch and generous attitude. "I wish he could have been here and had a photo together, him in his yellow sponsors shirt and me in the leader`s one, so sad he`s not here," said van der Poel. French fans saw their own hero Julian Alaphilippe lose the yellow jersey, but cheered the Dutchman both for his gung-ho passion and for his beloved grandfather.
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