Julian Alaphilippe followed a different path to the Paris 2024 Olympics to the other favourites for the men’s road race, but the Frenchman struck a confident note when he met the press on Thursday.
While Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel and Wout van Aert spent July in action at the Tour de France, Alaphilippe built towards his home Olympics with stage victories at the Tour of Slovakia and the Czech Tour.
Alaphilippe’s sparkling stage victory at the Giro in May had prompted speculation that he might be drafted into Evenepoel’s supporting cast at the Tour, but Soudal-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere quickly confirmed that he would allow his rider prepare for the Olympics as he had originally planned.
“I feel good and motivated,” Alaphilippe said, according to L’Équipe. “I don’t consider myself a favourite, but to be honest, I don’t think about that anyway, I don’t think about where I am compared to the others. I’m here to give my best for the French team. It’s a goal that’s close to my heart.”
Alaphilippe came close to a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, placing fourth after crashing on the notorious descent of Vista Chinesa in the finale. Three years ago, Alaphilippe opted not to race in the Tokyo Olympics due to the birth of his son.
“The Games can’t be just any old objective,” Alaphilippe said. “We’ve seen over the years that the Olympics have become a more and more important objective, with a level that’s always getting higher.
“I made the decision to forgo my place in Tokyo for the birth of my son, but at the time, I said I already hoped I would be in Paris. It’s been on my mind for a while, and I’ve been preparing for it.”
Later in 2021, Alaphilippe won his second consecutive world title in Leuven, but he has been unable to scale such heights since. A heavy crash at the following year's Liège-Bastogne-Liège was a significant impediment and he struggled for much of 2023 and through the early months of this year.
His victory at the Giro, however, had the feeling of a turning point.
"This is, let’s say, the first season in more than two years where he’s had a really good winter under his belt," his cousin and coach Franck Alaphilippe told Cyclingnews recently.
Alaphilippe was among the riders who availed of the chance to reconnoitre the finishing circuit at Montmartre on Thursday, albeit with a limit on their speed, a quirk that convinced Van der Poel to forgo the opportunity in order to train outside of Paris.
France has enjoyed a remarkable Olympic Games across a range of sports thus far, with Pauline Ferrand-Prévot claiming gold in the mountain bike, Léon Marchand shining in the swimming pool and Antoine Dupont leading the Rugby Sevens team to victory. Alaphilippe will nurture quiet hopes of joining in the gold rush.
"Everyone's buzzing," he said. "Even if we're super concentrated on our race, that doesn't stop us from following what's happening at the Olympics."
Although Alaphilippe’s French teammates Christophe Laporte, Kévin Vauquelin and Valentin Madouas all raced the Tour in July, it seems clear that the two-time world champion will be the outright leader of Thomas Voeckler’s quartet.
“I’m the only rider from the French team not to have done the Tour, it’s a different approach to my colleagues, but I don’t think there’s a better or worse approach,” Alaphilippe said.
“I’ve come out well from the Czech Tour. it was important for me to race there to finish off my preparation. I feel good, I did everything in my power to have a good preparation, and now there’s nothing to do except go out on Saturday and give my all.
"The fact that I'm being presented as an outsider is just the reality, you have to know your place. I've had a good season, better than the last few, but it hasn't been a booming one either, so I'm not coming to these Games as the favourite."
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