For the first time in a long time, Julian Alaphilippe will not be one of the favorites at the start of Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday April 23. Because the outgoing winner is none other than his teammate, Remco Evenepoel, but above all because of his state of form, which is far from optimal. The Frenchman was out of the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche wallonne due to an infection in his left knee following his fall during the Tour of Flanders. One more concern in a year punctuated by a few ups and a lot of downs, which began with the Dean of the Classics, in 2022.
While aiming for a first victory over Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Julian Alaphilippe (30) had suffered a serious fall, thrown against a tree at 80 km / h. “It was just a nightmare, described on arrival Romain Bardet, who had been the first to rescue his compatriot. I saw Julian five or six meters below, and it was an emotional shock because he was in a bad situation. He couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. The diagnosis is heavy: a pneumothorax, two broken ribs and a scapula.
“It was the most serious fall of his career. He was very, very, very scared, remembers his cousin and trainer, Franck Alaphilippe. But as soon as he was able to get back on the bike, we immediately projected ourselves on the Tour de France. This is also what allowed him to re-motivate himself. But his team (Soudal Quick-Step) finally decides not to field him during the Grande Boucle. “It was the best decision for us, a world champion who is not ready for the Tour, it’s always difficult”, justifies World Wilfried Peeters, one of the sports directors of the Belgian formation.
A blow for the puncher of Saint-Amand-Montrond (Cher). “I’m digesting it and I need some time, but yeah, I get it. It’s hard to take because I’ve worked hard for it. I am disappointed and sad not to be part of it, “he reacted in the columns of L’Equipe, shortly after the announcement of his non-participation.
“A Bit of Bitterness”
The roller coaster then begins. Alaphilippe won the first stage of the Tour de Wallonie for his second day of racing after its resumption, in July 2022, before giving up, sick with Covid-19. Then, he started the Tour of Spain well, serving his leader, Remco Evenepoel, before retiring following a fall, just three weeks before the Worlds, where he was defending his rainbow jersey.
In 2023, again. He won the Ardèche Classic… before further disappointments during the Flanders classics campaign. Sick at the E3 Grand Prix, he did not finish the race and accumulated fatigue for the Tour of Flanders, during which he fell again.
“Even though he has an exceptional temperament and mind, it gets complicated, he knows that. Especially when he sees his opponents dominate as they do, says Franck Alaphilippe. It leaves him a little bitter, but he has no choice. »
Beyond the disappointing results, “Alaf” has never competed with top names Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu Van der Poel or Wout van Aert. “When the fight breaks out and we’re expecting the Julian from two years ago, we have the impression that he’s already at his wit’s end and can’t put a ‘screw’,” Steve analyzes Chainel, consultant for Eurosport.
“The explosiveness, his ability to keep the effort short, violent, Julian does not have it as much as in the past, does not hide his coach. Last year, we never managed to complete a full training cycle for a goal. Julian has worked well this winter, but what he lost in a year cannot be made up in two or three months. »
While the galleys of the French continue, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar cannibalizes his privileged ground, that of the classics. Therefore, the missed opportunities in 2020 during the Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Flanders – Alaphilippe was respectively demoted for a gap during his sprint and the victim of a collision with a motorcycle – feed the regrets of not having further expanded his record at that time.
“I’m one of those who are confident because I know his talent and his ability to come back, he’s very resilient,” said Steve Chainel. “He is working to fight again with Pogacar, van Aert and Van der Poel, abounds Franck Alaphilippe. We want to believe it. »
Criticized by his boss
To make matters worse, the Habs have become the recurring target of criticism from their boss. “I learned a very nice expression in French: “In life, everyone must justify their salary.” I like him [Alaphilippe], like everyone else. But I have to be realistic: it eats up a large part of my budget, and I still want results too, “said Patrick Lefevere on RMC, Monday, April 17. “It’s his way of motivating his riders,” said Wilfried Peeters.
His future in the Soudal Quick-Step team, in which he has spent most of his career and where he is engaged until the end of 2024, is written in dotted lines. Asked about his willingness to extend Alaphilippe’s contract, Lefevere was clear: “On today’s results, no. But I always say it’s like school, three terms ago. We will look quarter by quarter, race by race. “To date, Julian does not know at all what he will do at the end of 2024, because he lives in the present and focuses on his 2023 season,” said his cousin, Franck Alaphilippe.
The potential savings made by doing without the Frenchman’s salary would allow the Belgian team to attract climbers to support Remco Evenepoel in the mountains. The latter won the Vuelta in 2022, the first grand tour in the history of the Soudal Quick-Step. A real paradigm shift for this formation, which has been essentially focused on the classics since its creation in 2003.
“Julian’s next goal is to win a stage in the 2023 Tour de France,” announced his sporting director, Wilfried Peeters. The first two rugged stages in the Spanish Basque Country, where the big start will be given on July 1, should suit him. “He has time to prepare well”, considers Steve Chainel. History to finally close this annus horribilis.
