Paris-Nice: Time trial victory propels Alaphilippe into race lead

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Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) confirmed the promise he has shown over the past two seasons by crushing the competition on the Paris-Nice stage 4 time trial.

Alaphilippe, a versatile rider who has come second in two Ardennes Classics, won the Tour of California overall, and finished the Olympic Games road race just out of the medals, won the 14.5km test by 19 seconds over Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo), with compatriot Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) just one second further behind.

The result put Alaphilippe into the race lead by 33 seconds over Gallopin, with Movistar's Gorka Izagirre, who was a close fourth on the stage, now third at 47 seconds.

Contador was unable to overcome the 1:12 deficit to Alaphilippe he suffered in the crosswinds on stage 1, and now sits eighth at 1:31 from the Frenchman.

Alaphilippe was ecstatic as he prepared for his podium time in the green room. "I felt great coming in, my training went well and form was good," he said. "This time trial was made for me, it was really fast at start and it had the climb at end. I felt a bit of extra pressure. I knew I was going well on the course, but I had no idea I was going to win."

Whether he can hold on to become the first French overall winner of Paris-Nice since Laurent Jalabert 20 years ago, however, remains to be seen. "When you're in the yellow jersey, you can't hide," Alaphilippe said. "There are three or four hard stages left. There's going to be a big battle, but I'll need to take any chances when they come."

How it unfolded

The 14.5km time trial to Mont Brouilly proved to be a fascinating test, combining a need for raw power across a mostly flat run of 11.5 kilometres from Beaujeu, and uphill speed over the final 3km climb averaging 7.7% gradient. Cold, drizzling rain made the stage even trickier for the contenders.

It was not the kind of course that favoured world champion Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin), but provided a stage for the punchy climbers to display their talents. After a strong showing from Nikias Arndt (Sunweb), Quick-Step Floors' David de la Cruz put in a crushing effort to take the hot seat with a time of 22:24.

Michael Matthews (Orica-Scott) was surprisingly strong just two seconds slower, a time quicker even than Richie Porte (BMC), whose GC ambitions were dashed in the crosswinds on stage 2 and was amongst the middle starters. It wasn't until Contador stormed across the line a full 26 seconds quicker that De la Cruz could head back to the Quick-Step team bus.

The other general classification contenders came through one by one, shy of the Trek-Segafredo rider's time: Davide Formolo (Cannondale-Drapac) ceded 47 seconds, Ion Izagirre (Bahrain-Merida) gave up 30 seconds, and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) put in a strong ride to come within 14 seconds. Sergio Henao (Sky) came 29 seconds down after slipping a wheel on a turn during the climb.

Gorka Izagirre (Movistar) came in a single second shy of Contador's time and, starting the day with a 45 second lead over Contador, put himself into a prime position for the overall GC battle.

Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) also put in a blistering effort to come just over a second shy of Contador, but it was Alaphilippe who proved strongest on the day, topping Contador's time by a massive 19 seconds. Combined with his 1:12 lead over Contador coming into the stage, the effort propelled the young Frenchman into the race lead.

Sprinter Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), third overnight, hardly tried to keep pace with Alaphilippe, and maillot jaune holder Arnaud Demare (FDJ) came across 1:40 shy of Alaphilippe despite an obvious effort on the climb.

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