Julian Alaphilippe: I'll be aggressive like always

When Julian Alaphilippe has his tongue out its going to be a hard day in the saddle
When Julian Alaphilippe has his tongue out its going to be a hard day in the saddle (Image credit: Getty Images)

Julian Alaphilippe has again warned he may not have the same success in this year's Tour de France as he enjoyed in 2019 but immediately identified Sunday’s hilly second stage around Nice as his first goal.

The French Deceuninck-QuickStep rider won two stages, wore the leader’s yellow jersey for two weeks and lit up the race until suffering in the final mountain stages last year. When the 2020 route was announced last October, Alaphilippe quickly realised it was perhaps too mountainous for him and that he would never again have the same form as in 2019.

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Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.