Max Walscheid: "This victory means a lot to me"

It has been a long time since Max Walscheid has lifted his arms in glory on European roads but the German heavyweight has put on a brutal sprint to win the GP de Denain. It is an important win for Cofidis, who are having a strong season so far.

"I am very proud to have won this race and all the work that has been done throughout the day by the team. We had a bit of everything: it felt like a classic, then Paris-Roubaix and that ended with a sprint," Walscheid said in a post-race interview.

Despite being active throughout the race's cobbled sectors, Walscheid wasn't well positioned and couldn't respond to INEOS Grenadiers' attack over the final cobblestones. Cofidis sat on the peloton afterwards as several teams urged to chase the group, with the junction being made just before the final kilometer. Walscheid was in perfect position for the final sprint, taking advantage of Adrien Petit's early launch and making his bid for the line with 200 meters to go, having the pure power to take his first win since the 2020 Tour of Langkawi.

"Tom Bohli, Piet Allegaert and all my teammates did a great job to achieve this result. This victory means a lot to me because it shows that I have the confidence of the team. I am very happy with the atmosphere within the team and to participate in the successes of Cofidis since the beginning of the season. And then it allows me to fill up with confidence before my main objective: to the best possible result in Paris-Roubaix," he concluded.

Walscheid has finished second at yesterday's Nokere Koerse and is carrying some strong form into the main classics period aswell as motivation. He will be racing the Bredene Koksijde Classic tomorrow where he will once again be one of the favourites for the victory, seeing how he has gotten back his sprinting prowess that has earned him many wins early in his career.