Chris Froome takes first post-Tour de France criterium; wins big hat
The three-time Tour winner finished ahead of Greg Van Avermaet and Rafal Majka in the Aalst Criterium on Monday
There's no rest for Chris Froome (Team Sky) after winning his third Tour de France. Less than 24 hours after rolling across the line on the Champs Élysées in victory at the 2016 Tour, the Brit was lining up for the first of the traditional post-tour criteriums.
Wearing his yellow jersey, along with King of the Mountains winner Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) in his polka-dots, to absolutely no-one's surprise Froome took victory at the Nartour Criterium in Aalst, Belgium.
He finished ahead of a front group which contained Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing), who won stage five of the Tour and wore the maillot jaune, and Majka, finishing second and third respectively.
>>> The moments that won Chris Froome the 2016 Tour de France
Froome was actually late arriving in Aalst for the race across the cobbled streets, but was still able to take in a lap of honour in front of the crowds before the race got underway.
His reward for winning was a nice big Napoleonic hat, thanks to sponsors Napoleon Games, and a nice big Belgian beer.
Hard to believe Froome drank that though, with a big couple of weeks coming up in his season goals. After an appearance at the RideLondon-Surrey Classic next weekend, Froome will be aiming for gold in both the Olympic Games road race and time trial in 10 days time.
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Follow on Twitter: @richwindy
Richard is digital editor of Cycling Weekly. Joining the team in 2013, Richard became editor of the website in 2014 and coordinates site content and strategy, leading the news team in coverage of the world's biggest races and working with the tech editor to deliver comprehensive buying guides, reviews, and the latest product news.
An occasional racer, Richard spends most of his time preparing for long-distance touring rides these days, or getting out to the Surrey Hills on the weekend on his Specialized Tarmac SL6 (with an obligatory pub stop of course).
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