Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep) claimed victory at the Faun-Ardèche Classic, beating David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) in a two-up sprint after they had escaped on the climb of Saint-Romain-de-Lerps with a shade under 30km to go.
The French pair collaborated smoothly on the run-in, which included the short, sharp ascent of the Côte de Val d’Enfer, and they had a buffer of more than half a minute on the scattered chasers as they approached the finish in Guilherand-Granges.
Alaphilippe was forced to lead out the sprint, but the two-time world champion had more than enough speed to see of Gaudu and land his first victory of the 2023 season. Mathias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) beat Victor Lafay (Cofidis) in the sprint for third at 31 seconds, while Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) took fifth at 43 seconds.
It was a timely triumph form Alaphilippe in the wake of manager Patrick Lefevere’s criticism over the winter, not to mention the travails of the rest of Soudal-QuickStep’ cobbled Classics team at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday afternoon.
“It’s a feeling I’d been missing, I was really determined to win. I worked a lot in recent weeks to be in condition here and this justified that work,” said Alapahilippe, who hadn’t raced since starting his season at the Challenge Mallorca in late January.
Alaphilippe lined up at the Ardèche Classic among the favourites, though a deep field also included Romain Bardet (DSM), Michael Woods (Israel Premier Tech), Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and the Bora-Hansgrohe duo of Jay Vine and Sergio Higuita.
Rémi Cavagna’s presence in the early break with Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies) meant that Soudal-QuickStep did not have the responsibility to control the peloton, but Alaphilippe’s team came to the fore after the escapees were pinned back. Ilan Van Wilder was prominent on the climb of Saint-Romain-de-Lerps before Alaphilippe launched what proved to be the winning move.
“When Remi was caught, I told the team I had good legs and I wanted to try to win. Ilan did a super job and then on the last climb, I attacked as though the finish was at the summit,” said Alaphilippe, who found a willing ally over the top in Gaudu.
“His team worked a lot today and then he spent the climb on my wheel, because he knew I would certainly attack. When it was just the two of us left, he immediately understood that we needed to work together and we just pushed hard until the sprint.”
Alaphilippe is due to race again at Sunday’s Faun-Drôme Classic before he turns his attention to Strade Bianche next weekend, where Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel will be among his rivals.
The 30-year-old’s hectic Spring campaign will also include Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo, E3 Harelbeke, the Tour of Flanders and the Ardennes Classics. After his 2022 season was ruined by illness and injury, Alaphilippe is up and running for the new year.
“It’s reassuring, it confirms the work I’ve done in recent weeks,” Alaphilippe said. “It’s only the start of the season and there’s a lot to do, but it’s a bit of a relief all the same.”
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