Julian Alaphilippe has put the hardest season of his career firmly behind him as he looks ahead to the Tour de France and an opening stage that is almost tailor-made for his characteristics.
The Frenchman endured a brutal 2022, crashing hard at Strade Bianche and even harder in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he suffered a broken shoulder blade, broken ribs, and a collapsed lung. He was left off the Quickstep team for the Tour last year but has returned with better form, a positive attitude and the aim of taking the maillot jaune on stage 1 in Bilbao.
