Tour de France - "Something special": Bora cycling team intoxicated by Paris victory

The Tour de France came to a conciliatory end for the German cycling team Bora-hansgrohe - and the mood was correspondingly good.

The team from Raubling in Bavaria celebrated the surprising victory of Belgian sprinter Jordi Meeus in the final race in Paris in style on Sunday evening.

"This is something special"

"It's something special to win the final stage of the Tour de France," team boss Ralph Denk told the German Press Agency. The Belgian Meeus won by a wafer-thin margin ahead of his compatriot Jasper Philipsen and ensured the second Tour stage win for a Bora pro this year. The Dane Jonas Vingegaard won the Tour de France for the second time.

Overall ranking

Originally, the Bora plan was to maintain third place in the overall standings. Australian Jai Hindley, who won the fifth stage, was third for a few days after an interlude in the yellow jersey, but he also dropped back due to the consequences of a crash and ended up seventh. "The podium would have been the next step," said Denk. But the two stage successes make for a positive conclusion: "That definitely makes up for it," said the team boss.

Ecstasy

Meeus, who matured into a professional at Bora, was duly greeted by his colleagues with a champagne shower on the podium after being honoured as the day's winner. "We weren't the favourites. When you win from the cold, it's even more emotional," said Denk. The 51-year-old had not expected success in Paris at all. "It certainly wasn't the bookies' favourite, but it was still great," he added straightforwardly.

The celebration

The Bora fans celebrated their riders with oh-how-beautiful chants as they crossed the finish line. "I don't think even the winning team has the same atmosphere as we do here," said Denk. The pros clinked glasses with sponsors and family on a boat in the French capital on Sunday evening. Celebrating after three weeks on tour for the pros - is that possible? "They are bundles of energy," said Denk.

Further goals

The two stage wins at the Tour and the two surprising stage wins by German pro Nico Denz at this year's Giro d'Italia are the start of more to come. "It's already my personal goal to win here at some point," said Denk.

Copyright 2023, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved