Cycling: Felix Gall won stages in the Tour de Suisse and the Tour de France in 2023. The Austrian has become one of the absolute top climbers in the peloton. This puts it in first place in our ranking.
Felix Gall is now measuring himself against the best
At the beginning of the year, hardly anyone would have expected that Felix Gall just a few months later he was able to win a stage in the Tour de France. To date, the Austrian has been known at best as a good helper, won a race in Croatia in 2019, but never stood out as a potential winning driver. But already in February in France, and later also in Italy and Spain, Felix Gall presented himself in an unprecedented condition. He was at the front and was often the best driver in his team. His star finally rose at the Tour de Suisse when he won a stage and came eighth in the overall ranking. It was logical that his team then nominated him for the Tour de France. And he knew how to convince there too. Felix Gall won the section in Courchevel and finished on the podium in two other stages. He also finished the Tour of France in eighth place overall. Particularly impressive: In the high mountains, especially last week, he was the only rider who was able to keep up with Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard for a long time.
What else is possible in the future?
It has been a long time since a mountain rider from Austria was so successful in the Tour de France in the high mountains and in the overall ranking. In 2005 Georg Totschnig won a stage. Bernhard Kohl won the mountain jersey in 2008 and came third overall. However, these top results were subsequently revoked because of doping. It's hard to remember those times. Hopefully something similar cannot be expected from Felix Gall. The 25-year-old makes a down-to-earth and likeable impression. His development in 2023 is gigantic. This raises the question of what the Austrian will be capable of in the future. His weakness in the individual time trial is blatant and cannot be explained away. But in the high mountains he was almost as strong as Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar in places. With the appropriate focus and belief in himself, it is quite conceivable that Felix Gall can take another step forward in 2024.