Crashing over the finish line, Liam Slock delivers an unforgettable first professional victory at GP Gippingen

It may not have exactly been one of the most conventional ways to take a first professional victory for Liam Slock on Sunday at the GP Gippingen but it sure was a victory celebration that the Lotto-Intermarché rider, and the rest of the cycling world, won’t soon forget.

The long-running 176km UCI 1.1 race in Switzerland had a host of key names on the start line with hefty win lists, however the 25-year-old became increasingly optimistic he could be in with a shot at his first as the race continued to progress through the 11 laps

That conserved energy did, as expected, prove valuable. Through the uphill sprint to the line Slock pulled out a sizeable gap to Aleksandr Vlasov (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) who was the first in pursuit with Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) close behind. It was a substantial enough margin that the rider in his fourth year as a professional felt safe enough to celebrate in the final metres before he crossed the line.

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That celebration set up a winning shot that would be unquestionably memorable, though perhaps not quite in the way Slock had expected it to be.

“The wind blew my handlebars away and down I went,” said Slock adding that “it’s a story worth framing”.

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The sting of the crash was numbed by the joy of victory as the solid margin meant that when his back rolled over the line, rather than his tyres, he still crossed just ahead of Vlasov despite the fumbled finish.

“Luckily the win came with it, otherwise this would probably have been the fail of the year,” said Slock with a laugh.

“It feels a bit silly, but above all I’m just incredibly happy.”