ProTeam Liam Slock claims memorable first professional victory in Gippingen

First of all: he’s okay. Apart from some abrasions and a sore hip, Liam Slock escaped relatively unscathed from both his spectacular crash and his victory in Gippingen. “Luckily the win came with it, otherwise this would probably have been the fail of the year,” Slock laughed afterwards. “There was an incredibly strong wind and I briefly underestimated it. I realised quite early that I was going to win and started celebrating early because I really wanted to enjoy the moment. I raised my arms in the air and then a gust of wind caught my handlebars…”

The images of Slock celebrating and literally crashing across the finish line are now making their way around the world. But they should not distract from the brilliant victory- his very first as a professional rider- that he secured in Switzerland, against some prestigious opposition. “The race had actually been going really well all day. We were always where we needed to be every lap. At one point a large group got away and I was able to follow comfortably. When Aleksandr Vlasov and Richard Carapaz attacked in the finale, I decided to bridge across. That took a lot of energy because those guys are among the very best. But once I made it across, I tried to save as much energy as possible. I thought that if I managed to do that, I might be able to win.”

He was right. In the uphill sprint, Slock powered to victory with a comfortable margin. “I still had plenty left in the tank, so I knew fairly quickly that I was going to make it. The fact that I then crashed makes this a story worth framing. It feels a bit silly, but above all I’m just incredibly happy.”

Picture: PhotoNews