Julian Alaphilippe was in the form of his life in 2019, culminating in a 14-day stint in the yellow jersey and two stage wins at the Tour de France.
In an interview for the new issue of Procycling magazine, the Frenchman again downplayed the idea that he would return to the Tour aiming to win it, although he said with the right course it is something he is capable of doing, after he had achieved his goals in the Classics and Monuments. For now, Alaphilippe said he is prioritising Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy.
In an interview from his home at Andorra, with Edward Pickering, the Deceuninck-QuickStep serial winner explained his approach to racing: "Your spirit determines how you race your bike and what you achieve. You can be very strong, but that’s not enough. I’m far from being the strongest rider in the peloton. But I have something in me which makes me want to hurt myself and go deeper and further, to surpass myself."
Also in the magazine this month, an interview with the Czech rider Roman Kreuziger, as he takes part in his 15th season as a professional cyclist. He discussed his transformation into a one-day specialist, with his frame suited to hard, long races.
In terms of his approach, Kreuziger said: "I’m not the guy who is fighting for position in the bunch but in the Classics it’s a week where I don’t let anybody past me in the corner because I know that every single sprint you do, you pay for it."
This season marks the 40th year of the Spanish team that began as Reynolds and currently operates as Movistar. Alasdair Fotheringham went to the Mallorca Challenge in January, the scene of the team’s first-ever race in 1980, and looked back on their humble beginnings on the island and how the team went on to dominate stage racing, from Delgado to Valverde, via Indurain and Sastre.
(Image credit: Future)
This year will also be the 30th birthday for cyclists who were born in 1990, a collection of whom were once seen as the golden generation of the peloton. The likes of Tom Dumoulin, Peter Sagan, Thibaut Pinot, Romain Bardet, Michał Kwiatkowski, Michael Matthews, and Nairo Quintana, have already won world titles, Grand Tours and Monuments. Sophie Hurcom and Adam Becket analyse their achievements so far, and whether they can keep delivering.
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Elsewhere, after her third-place performance at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad in February, Team Sunweb’s Floortje Mackaij tells Sophie Hurcom why she feels stronger than ever in her seventh year in the women’s peloton.
CCC Team’s Serge Pauwels looks back at his career through the seven different teams he’s ridden for so far, including Cervelo Test Team, Team Ineos and QuickStep, and how his role as a breakaway specialist evolved.
Also inside, an exploration into why the coronavirus crisis will impact and alter professional cycling as we know it, and Retro by William Fotheringham on Giancarlo Ferretti, the directeur sportif with the fearsome nickname the 'Iron Sergeant'.
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