Greipel eager to take on Tour de France in national championship jersey

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Sprinter Andre Greipel won his first national road race title on Sunday, and said that he would be “overjoyed and proud” to wear it in the upcoming Tour de France. Greipel added that if he could, he would share the jersey with Lotto Belisol teammate and close friend Marcel Sieberg.

National championships “have their own rules,” he wrote on his personal website, “and so can't be compared with other races.  And when only two riders from a team are there, it is harder to control against smaller teams with a much larger squad. 

“So I am overjoyed and proud that I will be able to wear the jersey with the black-red-gold stripes  at the Tour de France.  Believe me: that is something very special!”

As he mentioned, Greipel was in the race with only teammate Sieberg at his side. “Actually I should cut it (the jersey) in the middle and give half of it to 'Sibi*, because he was the one who not only held the group under control, but nearly won the title himself. He was caught only 700 meters before the finish line, which let me win the sprint, and so in the end we worked together perfectly.”

Greipel said that Sunday's race in Wengen was a good test for the Tour. “The preparations worked out well and I am looking forward to a hopefully exciting duel with my rivals. At any rate, on the German side some of the stages should really be exciting,” he noted, as two of his top rivals are German sprinters Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb of Argos-Shimano.