Frenchman who beat Van der Poel in Les Gets: 'I've always been a huge fan of Mathieu'

Mathieu van der Poel came up just short of marking his first cross-country mountain bike race in 11 months with a victory in Les Gets on Sunday. Home favorite Adrien Boichis, riding for Specialized on the mountain bike, proved too strong for the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider on the final lap and took the win. Boichis thoroughly enjoyed going head-to-head with the Dutch star.

Boichis, who made the decisive difference on the final descent, climbed off his bike immediately after the finish following their final-lap battle. Rather than heading straight off to celebrate, the Frenchman waited for Van der Poel so he could embrace him after what had been a memorable fight for victory.

"I grew up as a huge fan of Mathieu and I always watch him on TV. He is very special. To be able to fight with him and the others today is something I will remember forever," a proud Boichis said in the post-race flash interview.

"It still has to sink in, that's one thing that's certain. This is by far the best victory of my career. Especially when you look at how I felt, how hard the race was and how great the battle was out on the course. This is something I'll remember forever," said Boichis, who races on the road for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe and competed in the Tour of Poland just two weeks ago.

The Frenchman spent plenty of time at the front of the race, but it was not until the final lap that he finally managed to create the decisive gap. "To be honest, I usually go into races without much of a plan. I just see how the legs feel. Right now, I'm simply incredibly happy."

Next week, Boichis will once again line up as one of the major contenders at the Mountain Bike World Championships in Val di Sole, where he will again come up against Van der Poel. "I don't know if it's about confidence; I mainly get that from my training. From tomorrow, I'll start again from zero and prepare as well as I possibly can. But today, I just want to enjoy the victory."