Twelve months ago, Julian Alaphilippe hit the ground running at the Tour de la Provence, seemingly eager to distil every last ounce of value from his tenure in the rainbow jersey. A year on, the world title remains in his possession but, for reasons both planned and unforeseen, there is not quite the same urgency as he embarks on a new campaign in the south of France on Thursday.
Alaphilippe’s decision to forgo the cobbled Classics this year in favour of the Ardennes already implied that early form would not be as imperative in 2022 – Liège-Bastogne-Liège is over 10 weeks away, after all – and a bout of illness last month has stalled his build-up still further.
"My preparation went well apart from two or three weeks ago when I was sick," Alaphilippe told reporters in a video call on Wednesday.
"I had a cold, and I wasn’t able to go to the training camp in Portugal with the team and that was an important week for preparing the season. But now I’ve recovered, and although I’m certainly not at 100 per cent, I’m very motivated to start the season in France and with the rainbow jersey again."
Alaphilippe's week off the bike more or less coincided with the time his QuickStep-AlphaVinyl squad spent at a camp in the Algarve last month. And although he was able to resume full training 10 days ago, he admitted that solitary work at home was not an adequate substitute for the kind of race simulation he would have carried out in Portugal.
"No, not at all, and that’s why I certainly won’t be at 100 per cent here," he said.
"Maybe it will go well and I’ll be better than I think, but I had to spend a week off the bike and I couldn’t do a training camp that was very important to round off my preparation. I worked well, that’s sure, but I’m a bit behind, so to speak. Still, I’ll try to use this race to make efforts and prepare for the year ahead.
"I don’t have special ambitions here, I just want to get my bearings over the four days of racing, but there’s a good field, riders with races already in their legs. There’s no stress, I just want to enjoy it."
At least Alaphilippe will be on the start ramp in Berre-L’Étang on Thursday. His teammates Kasper Asgreen and Davide Ballerini both tested positive for COVID-19 this week and his QuickStep-AlphaVinyl squad will thus set out with just five riders.
Asgreen would have been a contender in Thursday’s short opening time trial, while Ballerini won two stages in this race last year, including on Saturday’s gentling climbing finale in Manosque. Their absence puts a rather different complexion on QuickStep’s race.
"Kasper was already a loss, it would have been a nice duel with Filippo Ganna in the time trial," Alaphilippe said. "Now, without Davide for the sprints, it’s immediately more complicated for us. That takes away chances for us to win stages. We still have a good team here, but having only five riders at the start isn’t the best."
Classic programme
Alaphilippe was an aggressive presence at last year’s Tour de la Provence, attacking on the opening day, placing third on the summit finish at Chalet Reynard and finishing the race in second place overall behind Ivan Sosa. The varied terrain, including a tough finale at Montagne de Lure on Sunday, will again offer the Frenchman a chance to run through the scales this week, though he downplayed expectations by gently stressing that his focus was on loftier goals later in the spring.
In an echo of his annus mirabilis of 2019, Alaphilippe’s spring targets can be broken into two distinct blocks. The first takes him to Italy for Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo. He then races Itzulia Basque Country as preparation for the Ardennes Classics and, in particular, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he has some unfinished business after placing second in 2015 and 2021.
"This year, I’m more focused on the Ardennes, with the Italian block beforehand and the Basque Country as preparation. So it’s a ‘classic’ build-up compared to the last couple of years, and I’m happy to go back to that," said Alaphilippe, though his dalliance with the Tour of Flanders has only been temporarily cast aside.
"But if it goes well – and even if it doesn’t – I’ll want to do a lot more Flemish Classics next year. But for now, I’m very happy with my programme and with the objectives I’ve set myself. It allows me to be more tranquil."
Alaphilippe is tranquil, too, whenever he is asked about his Tour de France ambitions, a staple of every press conference he has held since at least the summer of 2019, when he took an unexpected 5th overall after leading the race for two weeks. He will return to the Tour in 2022, but, as ever, he remains politely non-committal about his overall aspirations in July.
"It’s true that I’ve been asked that question a lot," he said. "We don’t have a team that will be there to ride for the GC, but that won’t take away from the ambition to do a good Tour, both collectively and individually."
Rather than entertain talk of the maillot jaune, Alaphilippe preferred to speak of the jersey already on his back as his season begins. He is more familiar with its weight the second time around, and the burden, it seems, is somehow lighter.
"I don’t feel any more expectation than normal. On the contrary, I feel more relaxed than last year at the same period," he said. "I’ve learned to be a bit more calm. I’ve said it a lot this winter, but I’ve reminded myself to enjoy and to savour these two seasons that are so rich in emotions."
