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Teams & Riders Julian Alaphilippe Discussion Thread

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LBL's changed route will make it more difficult for him. He has yet to show he can get to the end of the season with any kind of shape to compete, so unless that changes he won't have a shot at Lombardia. For Rhonde he'll need to put on weight and at least right now there are much better cobbled riders on his team. Roubiax, extremely unlikely.
 
The very fact that he has so many quality cobble riders on his team is exactly why he has such a good chance at Ronde. It’s what helped Gilbert win it last year. In the same way that Alaphilippe’s presence in the race helped Jungels win LBL.

There will be several seasons where he aims for theWorlds. So he will also be in shape for Lombardia in those years. Even if that means sacrificing early or mid-season goals like MSR, Liege, Tour etc.

I can’t see him winning Roubaix. That’s it. Any other 1-day, he can win.
 
I can’t see him winning Roubaix. That’s it. Any other 1-day, he can win.
Well, normally i'd agree with that, but if you start to think about it... He's one of the better ITT'ers in the peloton (maybe not elite, but still) and he comes from cyclocross (worldchampion U23 in 2011). So i wouldn't write him off just yet for PR, maybe later in his career (not unlike Gilbert). Not saying he'd be a big favorite, but i think he'd still have a shot if he'd focus on it.
 
Well, normally i'd agree with that, but if you start to think about it... He's one of the better ITT'ers in the peloton (maybe not elite, but still) and he comes from cyclocross (worldchampion U23 in 2011). So i wouldn't write him off just yet for PR, maybe later in his career (not unlike Gilbert). Not saying he'd be a big favorite, but i think he'd still have a shot if he'd focus on it.
And why is that important in a race like Paris-Roubaix? Which elite TT-er, apart from Cancellara had won it in the last 30 years?
 
He will almost certainly win LBL and probably Lombardia. He can win the Ronde, but it will be harder. Roubaix, probably not. MSR is the biggest lottery of the Monuments, so it’s great to have it already under his belt.
Winning a Monument is not an easy task, remember Sagan was tipped to win couple of MSR in his career...
I would say he should win Liege at least once during his career, at Lombardia he should have a decent shot, especially if the race finish in Bergamo. Ronde will be very hard, but not impossible, and Roubaix will be impossible imo.
Also at the Worlds he should be among the favorites quite often, but it's not a given, just look how long Valverde waited...
 
And why is that important in a race like Paris-Roubaix? Which elite TT-er, apart from Cancellara had won it in the last 30 years?
Because it is a race where you often need to bridge a gap after a puncture. It was also a combination of factors that i was mentioning. Being able to cope with rough terrain and being able to sustain a solo effort. He's got a nasty sprint as well, and would be able to beat a small bunch at the finish.

So again, i'm not seeing this "impossible to win PR" for him. Unlikely, sure.
 
Because it is a race where you often need to bridge a gap after a puncture. It was also a combination of factors that i was mentioning. Being able to cope with rough terrain and being able to sustain a solo effort. He's got a nasty sprint as well, and would be able to beat a small bunch at the finish.

So again, i'm not seeing this "impossible to win PR" for him. Unlikely, sure.


I think there's one more thing in play and that is other riders forcing him to do all the work as happens to Sagan and happened to Cancellara.
 
Not true, because he will never start this race as a standout favorite. Unlike Sagan and Cancellara.

Doesn't matter when you end up in a small group closer to the end. After what Valverde did in Flanders last year, I highly doubt anyone will underestimate Alaphilippe's possibilities, even he is unlikely to win. Granted Alaphilippe has not yet proven he can race cobbles well in one day races as he hasn't raced any that I remember, while Valverde had before racing Flanders and done well when he has. Also he is going to start getting that treatment and has started to get it in other races. I suspect he'll get it even more.
 
Doesn't matter when you end up in a small group closer to the end. After what Valverde did in Flanders last year, I highly doubt anyone will underestimate Alaphilippe's possibilities, even he is unlikely to win. Granted Alaphilippe has not yet proven he can race cobbles well in one day races as he hasn't raced any that I remember, while Valverde had before racing Flanders and done well when he has. Also he is going to start getting that treatment and has started to get it in other races. I suspect he'll get it even more.
There is no way Alaphilippe will be considered the biggest contender unless they are well into the final of PR and he is there with some 2nd tier riders. If he's there with guys like van Aert, van der Poel, Sagan, this will not be a problem to begin with. These guys will always ride and will in most cases be considered bigger favorites than him on that course. And what you are describing would in such cases be the same for many other favorites (like those i mentioned).
 
There is no way Alaphilippe will be considered the biggest contender unless they are well into the final of PR and he is there with some 2nd tier riders. If he's there with guys like van Aert, van der Poel, Sagan, this will not be a problem to begin with. These guys will always ride and will in most cases be considered bigger favorites than him on that course. And what you are describing would in such cases be the same for many other favorites (like those i mentioned).

Highly unlikely that scenario will ever happen. In many other races, however, it will happen and then he has a decision to make. Do what Cancellara did and put in the energy to keep the group away and possibly have nothing left at the end or take the opposite approach, which Valverde choose, and refuse to do all the work and be more than willing to let the group behind catch you OR be willing to not catch the group in front if the other don't want to help. The way his personality is, I'd say he's more likely to go the Cancellara way on that.
 
So ... apparently Julian is a/the reason why Marion Rousse and Tony Gallopin recently got divorced. They (J+M) don't hide being a couple anymore.

Isn't it possible they became a couple after the divorce? Gotta admit I've only read about it in a (google translated) article on Sporza, and from what I understand her explanation was that sometimes… life simply doesn't work out as you expect.
(Didn't even know Gallopin and Rousse had ben been divorced, so... was a bit surprised to read about Alaphilippe and Rousse being a couple…)
 
Isn't it possible they became a couple after the divorce? Gotta admit I've only read about it in a (google translated) article on Sporza, and from what I understand her explanation was that sometimes… life simply doesn't work out as you expect.
(Didn't even know Gallopin and Rousse had ben been divorced, so... was a bit surprised to read about Alaphilippe and Rousse being a couple…)
Of course that's possible, but they appear to be quite close for a while now. There was chemistry earlier on for sure.

Can't blame Julian ...
 
Very slow start to the season so far. It is probably the right strategy, he has always been pretty dead towards the end of the season the last years after going all out basically from his first race day. There are a lot of important goals still to come, Flanders, LBL, Tour, Olympics, Worlds. In particular the latter two have very good courses for him and you have to take the opportunities when they present themselves.
Still, I find it a bit worrying now how quiet he has been. Sure, terrible weather like on the weekend in France has never been his trong suit.. But he even admitted that he is behind schedule with Paris-Nice only a couple of days away. Could the illness from San Juan be the reason?
 
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Very slow start to the season so far. It is probably the right strategy, he has always been pretty dead towards the end of the season the last years after going all out basically from his first race day. There are a lot of important goals still to come, Flanders, LBL, Tour, Olympics, Worlds. In particular the latter two have very good courses for him and you have to take the opportunities when they present themselves.
Still, I find it a bit worrying now how quite he has been. Sure, terrible weather like on the weekend in France has never been his trong suit.. But he even admitted that he is behind schedule with Paris-Nice only a couple of days away. Could the illness from San Juan be the reason?

I suppose it could be. Interesting how the biggest stars of last spring (him and MVDP) are either out or underperforming. I also wonder there haven't been some off-season distractions -- he's now one of the biggest sportsmen here in France and I'm sure he's been asked to make a lot of appearances and do interviews etc. Not mention his romantic life.
 
I don't think it's the San Juan bug. He looked good in Colombia. Also don't think it's media stuff, actually I used to think he was a little too much in love with himself and the camera, but he has surprised me and seems in fact to have a straight head on his shoulders and be very focused. (At least that's what I made from what I read, but I don't live in France, so there you might get a different impression.) I thought on the contrary, maybe a little overtraining? Or, I don't know his schedule, something to do with how much/ when altitude training? It might also be mentally difficult for him to start the season not going all out, that's what he seems so be good at?
Anyway, I would expect him to show a lower profile this year, wish him the best though.
 
It doesn’t explain everything but it‘s known that Alaphilippe has a hard time racing in wet conditions. And riders like that need days to recover from that. It sucks the energy out of you. He looked ok in Colombia. Let’s hope it’s just a minor setback. But a guy like him always gets uneasy fast. I’m sure it’s not helping on the mental front. If P-N turns out to be ok (competing in stages at least) he’ll have a couple of weeks to prepare himself and get better while training on the Flemish roads (Asgreen who did the same these last weeks has proven that it works - at least for him).
 

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