Julian Alaphilippe has delivered a defiant message to his critics and to those who have written off Soudal-QuickStep’s chances against Mathieu van de Poel, Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogačar.
The former double world champion, like his team, has endured an unusually difficult first segment of the Classics, a speciality they have previously dominated.
Soudal-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefevere has repeated his usual mantra that an
evaluation of their global performance can only be made after Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Remco Evenepoel is on form, but the cobbled Classics results have revealed the scale of the team’s crisis.
In a lengthy interview with L’Équipe, Alaphilippe has made it clear that he is not prepared to throw in the towel and he offered his team some advice on the strategy he feels they should follow in the races to come.
“We’re trying to stay calm,” Alaphilippe said, “it’s normal that we’re disappointed in QuickStep because everybody’s so deeply invested in this period, including the staff.”
“Lots of our riders have really prepared for this segment of the season, and when you see that some of our rivals are dominating like that, of course, it’s disappointing.”
“But we have to keep calm, be patient, keep on doing what we’ve always done. Self-pity isn’t any use. And in fact, I find these situations can make me feel even more motivated.”
Widely recognised as the rider most likely to pull Soudal-QuickStep out of their current cobbled Classics predicament, Alaphilippe explained to L’Equipe that after feeling on form at Milan-San Remo, he then fell ill on the morning of E3 Saxo Classic.
“I had great legs at San Remo but well - bad timing, bad positioning, some mistakes by the team, and voila,” Alaphilippe told L’Équipe. “I didn’t give up, but I was disappointed to tackle the Poggio like I did. I’ve never been so badly placed as when I started it this year.”
The day before E3 I felt a little tired but I didn't worry about it. Then on Friday, when I woke up, I had a stomach ache, I felt that it was not right at all. I couldn't eat anything for breakfast. I had two options: either I didn't race, or I took the start and did what I could... I tried because I really wanted to race."
Alaphilippe pointed out that after a 2022 season which went badly almost from start to finish – with crashes, COVID-19 and injuries all taking their toll to the point where he couldn’t complete a single training block – in 2023 he had a lot of ground to recover.
“I’m not going to say I lost an entire year, but almost. I was never at the top of my game,” he said. “I showed that I was patient, but I’d like to have a bit of success. I’d like the work to pay off because I put in a lot of hard yards.”
Doubts remain about if Alaphilippe has the form to take on Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel at the Tour of Flanders.
Alaphilippe answered after a moment of reflection.
“I don’t know, I haven’t had the chance to prove that yet,” he said.
“As I haven’t been capable so far, I’m obliged to say ‘No’, but on the other hand, I don’t know how these coming weeks will play out. What’s certain is that they are at an exceptional level, right now.”
Focussing specifically on Tadej Pogačar, Alaphilippe concluded: “I’d have to be on a very good day to be able to follow him. He’s a game-changer. I’m not.”
