"In a sport that has more difficult moments than fun, but this is fun" says Dorian Godon following Brabantse Pijl victory

The 7th win of his professional career but no doubt the biggest, AG2R Citroen Team's Dorian Godon was elated by his Brabantse Pijl success where he proved too powerful for EF Education-EasyPost's Ben Healy in a final sprint.

“We had taken responsibility throughout the day. It was a hard race because of the course and the weather," Godon explains in his post-race interview. "I already tried to attack in the first local lap. It took some energy. I needed time to recover from that, but the further we rode, the better I felt. Especially after the gap was big enough."

With Godon part of a leading duo alongside Ben Healy, the race win was decided by a final sprint between the two riders. "I knew I was strong in the sprint. I said to myself: I'm going for the win," Godon reveals. "I wasn't sure I was the fastest in a sprint with us two, but bon. This is finally a beautiful moment in a sport that has more difficult moments than fun, but this is fun.”

The success was made even sweeter for Godon as AG2R teammate Benoit Cosnefroy won the sprint for best of the rest to made it two riders from the team on the podium. “I think we rode very strongly, especially collectively. Our leader Benoît Cosnefroy is really in shape for the Ardennes classics. Otherwise you won't be third," Godon continues. "It's not every day I'm on stage with Benoît. We really start the campaign in the Ardennes well. I hope this is just the beginning. It is also an important success for AG2R-Citroën."