After his controversial absence last year, Julian Alaphilippe will make a comeback on the Tour de France ! In fact, his team Soudal Quick-Step has (finally) announced its selection of 8 riders for this 110th edition (July 1 to 23), and, unsurprisingly, the Frenchman is one of them. Between 2019 and 2021, alaphilippe won 6 stages and wore the yellow jersey for a total of 18 days. But the last seasons have been more difficult for the native of Saint-Armand-Montrond, who hopes to find his best level on this Big loop. Within his team Soudal Quick-Stephe will be accompanied by one of the most powerful sprinters in the peloton: Fabio Jakobsen. The Dutchman scored his first success on the Round last season and hopes to repeat the feat this year. French Remi Cavagna will make his debut on the Tour de France. The rest of the selection is completed by Tim Declercq, Kasper Asgreen, Yves Lampaert, Dries Devenyns And Michael Morkov. The absences of Florian Senechal, Andrea Bagioli And Mauri Vansevenantwhich was all three scheduled for this event, are to be noted.
Cyrille Guimard spoke about the Julian Alaphilippe case
Julian Alaphilippe: “I’m ready for the Tour”
“I’m looking forward to the Tour de France, it’s always an exciting time of year”explain alaphilippe on the site of his team. “I did a reconnaissance from the start in Bilbao, and I can tell you that it will be a beautiful and tough weekend. At the beginning of the month I did a good Dauphiné, where I felt in good shape, I won and I enjoyed riding, and the preparation went well. The Tour is a really huge adventure, every day you have to fight with the team, and there is a really special atmosphere, with everything the world along the roads. I’m ready for the Tour.”
Tom Steelssports director of wolf packalso spoke. “Julian and Fabio are our two leaders. Julian will try to aim for a stage victory, because he has great opportunities over the three weeks of racing, while Fabio will rely on Michael to guide him in the sprints, but also on Kasper and Yves, who can keep the speed high in the peloton, Rémi, who can start in some breakaways, and Dries will be the two men alongside Julian, while Tim can work on all terrains, especially to control the breakaway , but just as important, he will also be able to help Fabio in the mountains, together with the other guys. Looking at our team, you see a group that has a lot of ambition and motivation, so we hope for a good Tour de France.”
The 8 runners of Soudal Quick-Step:
Julian Alaphilippe (FRA / 31 years old) – 5 participations / best result: 5th (2019) / 6 stage wins (2x 2018, 2x 2019, 2020, 2021)
Fabio Jakobsen (NED / 26 years old) – 1 participation / best result: 129th / 1 stage victory (2022)
Remi Cavagna (FRA / 27 years old) – no participation
Tim Declercq (NED / 28 years old) – 3 participations / best result: 127th (2020)
Kasper Asgreen (DAN / 28 years old) – 4 participations / best result: 64th (2021)
Yves Lampaert (BEL / 28 years old) – 3 participations / best result: 80th (2018) / 1 stage victory (2022)
Dries Devenyns (BEL / 39 years old) – 7 participations / best result: 46th (2011)
Michael Morkov (DAN / 38 years old) – 7 participations / best result: 93rd (2012)