Alaphilippe stuns Tour with time-trial win
PAU, France — Inspired by his yellow jersey, Julian Alaphilippe held off defending champion Geraint Thomas to win the only individual time trial stage of this Tour de France on Friday — a shock victory to raise French hopes that he could go all the way in yellow to Paris next week.
Cheered on by boisterous crowds hammering on roadside barriers, Alaphilippe sprang a surprise in his margin of victory on the tricky, hilly, turn-filled, 17-mile loop south of Pau, with spectacular views of the Pyrenees.
Having previously predicted that he would lose time to Thomas, an expert in the race against the clock, Alaphilippe stunned even himself by emphatically relegating the Welshman into second place, 14 seconds slower.
“It’s incredible,” Alaphilippe said, adding that his performance reduced members of his team to tears. “I didn’t think I’d win. I was transported by the maillot jaune.”
His second stage victory of this Tour — he also was victorious in Stage 3 — came 100 years to the day since the jersey was first awarded to a rider, on July 19, 1919, to Frenchman Eugene Christophe.
All eyes turn to the Pyrenees to see whether Alaphilippe can continue his dream race Saturday ascending the legendary Tourmalet, the first of seven climbs to above 6,500 feet in the highest Tour in the race’s 116-year history.
Alaphilippe leads Thomas by 1 minute, 26 seconds overall, a sizeable margin that still could melt like the Pyrenees’ last snows in the July heat if he wilts on the punishing Tourmalet and, next week, in the Alps.
Thomas was among those stunned by the Frenchman’s ride.
“I didn’t really expect that,” he said. “He’s obviously going incredibly well, so he’s certainly the favorite and the one to watch.”