Julian Alaphilippe to skip Il Lombardia bringing end to successful season
tour_de_france_alaphillipe
Julian Alaphilippe will bring an end to a successful season after pulling out Il Lombardia this Saturday. The Frenchman has been the stand out rider for 2019 and was expected to line up at the Italian Monument at the weekend as one of the favourites. However, a taxing year of racing has seen Alaphillipe to call time on his year.
‘I am really sad to tell you that I will not be racing Milano-Torino and Il Lombardia this week and that my incredible 2019 season has come to an end. You know that I always give everything and have done ever since my year started in Argentina,’ said Alaphilippe.
‘I’ve worked really hard to try and be at my peak for a third time this year, having raced hard at the Classics and Le Tour, but I knew at the Worlds that my form is short of where I would like it to be.
Related questions you can explore with Ask Cyclist, our new AI search engine.
svg%3E
If you would like to ask your own question you just need to Login, Register or subscribe.
‘I really wanted to be with the guys in Italy and give my all for the team, but as I can’t do that, it makes sense that I start my post-season recovery now, in order to be in the best possible shape for the start of next year.’
The 27-year-old has had one of the most fruitful seasons in the best part of a century. With 12 victories across the year, Alaphilippe started in spring with stage victories at Vuelta a San Juan, Colombia 2.1, Tirreno-Adriatico and Itzulia Basque County.
This was followed by wins at Strade Bianche, Fleche Wallonne and a first career Monument at Milan-San Remo.
The form then continued through to summer through another stage win at Criterium du Dauphine and a memorable Tour de France that included two stage wins, 14 days in the yellow jersey and a surprise fifth place on General Classification.
Banking these achievements have earned Alaphilippe a nomination for the Velo d’Or award, of which he is favourite.
He will go up against a long list of Egan Bernal, Richard Carapaz, Primoz Roglic, Remco Evenepoel, Caleb Ewan, Jakob Fuglsang, Philippe Gilbert, Mathieu van der Poel, Mads Pedersen, Elia Viviani and Annemiek van Vleuten.
Leave a Reply