Alaphilippe returns with show of brilliance
● Darling of the French dedicates win to father as he takes yellow jersey
France’s fastest showman on two wheels is back making a splash at the Tour de France and once again wearing the iconic yellow jersey.
Julian Alaphilippe, the rider who more than any other helped turn the 2019 edition into a thriller, again showered the Tour with his class and g u i l e , p o a c h i n g v i c t o r y o n Stage 2 in the picture-postcard Mediterranean city of Nice and taking the overall race lead.
A final burst of acceleration timed with precision enabled Alaphilippe to shake two pursuers and hold off the main pack of riders furiously gaining ground on the finishing straight.
Deprived of wins since his feats that enchanted French fans last summer, Alaphilippe kissed his finger and raised it to the sky as he crossed the line, a tribute to his father who died in June.
“I promised myself that I’d win for him,” Alaphilippe said after outsprinting Marc Hirs c h i a n d Ad a m Ya t e s , wh o c o m p l e t e d t h e p o d i u m . “I hadn’t won a race this year yet. But I’ve always remained serious with my training despite the difficult moments I went through. I dedicate this victory to my father.”
The stage win, his fifth in four Tours, will anchor his status as a darling of French cycling fans, conquered by his thrilling riding at last year’s edition, when he held the race lead for 14 days. He is now back in yel
STAGE 2: NICE-NICE, 186KM low, thanks to time bonuses for winning the stage and on the final climb of the arduous day of riding through mountains north of Nice.
A n d wh i l e A l a p h i l i p p e i s playing down any hope of winning the overall title in Paris in three weeks, he intends to cling onto the coveted jersey for as long as he can.
“T h e ye l l ow j e r s e y h a s t o be respected,” he said. “I will defend it with honour.”
Alaphilippe, however, insisted he did not enter the race to fight for the general classification. He has big ambitions for the one-day classics that will follow the Tour this autumn and does not want to burn all his energy during the gruelling three-week race.
“We did not come here to win the Tour de France,” he said.
Al a p h i l i p p e l a u n c h e d t h e d e c i s i v e m o v e 1 3 k i l o m e - tres from the finish. Making the most of team-mate B ob Ju n g e l s’ s u s t a i n e d p a c e i n the Col des Quatre Chemins, t h e F r e n c h m a n p l a c e d a b r u t a l a c c e l e r a t i o n to d r o p his rivals.
Hirschi was able to bridge the gap after a few hundred metres following the Frenchman’s attack and Yates made the junction with 11 kilome - tres left.
The trio of riders collaborated well to keep the peloton at bay until the red flame marking the final kilometre.
After adjusting his helmet and tightening his sho es to get ready for the sprint, Alaphilippe proved the fastest in a strong headwind.
“I asked my team to make the race hard,” he said. “There weren’t many riders left in the last climb. I gave it all. I had n o t h i n g t o l o s e . T h i s i s t h e v i c t o r y t h a t I wa s mi s s i n g . The yellow jersey is the ice on the cake.”
Overall, Alaphilipp e has a
four-second lead over Yates, wi t h Hi r s c h i i n t h i r d p l a c e t h r e e s e c o n d s f u r t h e r b a c k ahead of today’s hilly Stage 3 from Nice to Sisteron.