A tale of two summers as Alaphilippe takes Barguil's limelight at the Tour de France

A tale of two summers. As Warren Barguil (Fortuneo-Samsic) was distanced from the break on the lower slopes of the Col du Portillon on stage 16 of the Tour de France, it must have been hard to avoid feeling like last year's man, not least because Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) was among the riders disappearing from view. An hour later, Alaphillipe would land his second stage win of this Tour in Bagnères-de-Luchon and cement his lead in the king of the mountains classification.

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Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.