While it appears that he will stay next season with Soudal-Quickstep, with whom he has a one-year contract, the role that Julian Alaphilippe will have to occupy within the Belgian team, now entirely focused on Evenepoel, appears uncertain. And a detail noted in recent hours will undoubtedly add to the questioning.
Since several weeks, Julian Alaphilippe spares no effort to regain a high level, allowing him to race for victory in the biggest races. Ideally, the French champion would like to raise his arms before the end of the season. Before the two great classics contested in Quebec at the beginning of September, the Quebec Grand-Prix and the Montreal Grand-Prix, Julian Alaphilippe had thus declared: “ It has been a difficult year for me, with little success. It was also an important year to learn a lot. I think after last year I wanted to do everything I could to get back to my level and that’s what I did. For the results, I have to be patient and continue to work as I have always done. I hope to have a good end to the season and raise my arms. That’s all I can say, I’m really motivated and I’m doing everything I can to get back to my best level ».
Cycling: They will deliver a clue about the future of Alaphilippe https://t.co/XrIYpi77ne pic.twitter.com/zDFVhi8Iu8
— le10sport (@le10sport) September 21, 2023
The Soudal-Quickstep totally turned towards Evenepoel
For the French champion, it is clear that a great victory at the end of the season would be ideal to regain confidence before starting preparation for next season. In addition, this would undoubtedly allow him to maintain a certain status within the Soudal-Quickstepat a time when Belgian training seems totally at the service of Remco Evenepoel and its project focused on the Tour de France 2024.
A trivial detail… or not?
As such, a detail, a priori innocuous, tends to give credence to the hypothesis that the articulation between Evenepoel et Alaphilippe is done today mainly in the direction of the interests of the Belgian champion, established as absolute leader of the team, which would entail for the Frenchman the need to adapt to a more restricted room for maneuver in certain major races. Thus, while he was among the names cited for participation in the Tour of Lombardy, Julian Alaphilippe no longer appears there sinceEvenepoel announced his intention to contest it. Real change of program or simple oversight? The answer to this question could well provide lessons on the future relationship between the two champions within the team Soudal-Quickstep…
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