Teams & Riders Julian Alaphilippe Discussion Thread

[Climbing]

Chapeau!

 

[Sestriere]

Congrats for riding the race just the way he should have. No antics today, just a lot of watts.

Ardennes are coming up. If he can keep the focus up he will be very difficult to beat there.

 

[cellardoor]

Congrats for riding the race just the way he should have. No antics today, just a lot of watts.

Ardennes are coming up. If he can keep the focus up he will be very difficult to beat there.

I have to say, I'm more curious to see how he does at RVV.

 

[Gigs_98]

I honestly disagree with the whole "Alaphilippe found his legs in the Tour" thing. Like, he won stage two of that race, he can't have been too shabby at the beginning.

I think what we saw today was what we've known for years now. If Alaphilippe is somewhat fresh and accelerates towards the end of a climb, nobody can follow, period. He often cannot sustain that effort, if someone else accelerates on a long climb he can almost certainly follow the attack, it's just that he often completely blows up a minute later. He will often drop everyone 2 or 3 kilometres from the top of a climb just before he is easily caught again. But if he is positioned like today, with a few hundred metres of climbing remaining and him not being completely in the red yet his punch is just miles better than anyone elses. It already would have been in the first week of the Tour and it probably would have been a week before the Tour as well. This wasn't Alaphilippe slowly but surely getting into shape over the Tour, this was simply Alaphilippe in a racing situation in which he is close to unbeatable.

 

[Alexandre B.]

He will probably skip La Flèche Wallonne, by his own admission.

 

[Anybody_but..]

That was so obvious - that's way so amazing!

 

[Anybody_but..]

He will probably skip La Flèche Wallonne, by his own admission.

I hope not - 100 % favourite!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Congrats. I would have liked van Aert to win, but nothing to be done when Alaphilippe has his day. Ultimately, the course was better for Julian than for Wout. At the moment he seems like the only rider able to make those kinds of gaps on a short steep climb.

A beautiful champion.

 

[Fuente De]

Wattage bazooka delivered when it mattered - very happy for him. Off to win LBL in the stripes!

 

[Jagartrott]

Apparently, he was riding the 14% slopes on the big ring, after nearly 250 km. That's pretty amazing. I was thinking all his looking back would make him miss a corner or something, but luckily it didn't happen. I think this was probably his best shot at the Worlds, and he delivered.

 

[jmdirt]

WOOHOO! JA!

 

[cellardoor]

 

[Cookster15]

Very happy JA won after the disappointment of 2018. I think Gigs explains well why. Racing situation in 2018 at Innsbruck was different. Then at the crucial moment he had no legs. This time he did.

 

[BlueRoads]

Does he really want to leave out the Ardennes? I mean, I can understand he's tired and wants the feeling to sink in, but isn't his season almost over, anyway? I could understand Flèche, but LBL, too?
Well, if he does not ride the next races, maybe he can lend the jersey to Pedersen during that time.

 

[RedheadDane]

I could understand Flèche, but LBL, too?

I could not understand Flèche!

 

[tobydawq]

Does he really want to leave out the Ardennes? I mean, I can understand he's tired and wants the feeling to sink in, but isn't his season almost over, anyway? I could understand Flèche, but LBL, too?
Well, if he does not ride the next races, maybe he can lend the jersey to Pedersen during that time.

I heard that he intends to skip Flèche because he wants to focus fully on LBL.

 

[fuiers]

Also how much does he have to press junkets now. Even before wednesday. That could be exhausting and focusing a race so early after yesterday could have it's effects.

 

[Leinster]

Also how much does he have to press junkets now. Even before wednesday. That could be exhausting and focusing a race so early after yesterday could have it's effects.

You would hope Lefevere would keep a lid on that.

I remember seeing Kwiatkowski cramping up about the 20km banner at Lombardia in his first race in the jersey. I'm sure Pat remembers it too.

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

It's possible Ala will not be recovered after the worlds, competing in the Flèche. But the Flèche suits Ala better than L-B-L. The last slope in L-B-L, the Roche-aux-Faucons, is tough, but is not as hard than the finishing "Muur of Hoei" (up to 19 %) or the final steep 16 % slope in the worlds. I don't think Ala will be able to do better than some climbers and allrounders on that Roche-aux-faucons. So, I understand he doesn't want to compete in the Flèche, but it's not the best choice.

 

[Mayomaniac]

I think the way the whole season got changed because of the pandemic actually helped him winning the WC.
Usually he has his spring peak for the classics and a 2nd one for the Tour later, having a 3rd one for Worlds and Lombardia is really hard (unless you're Valverde).

 

[Leinster]

It's possible Ala will not be recovered after the worlds, competing in the Flèche. But the Flèche suits Ala better than L-B-L. The last slope in L-B-L, the Roche-aux-Faucons, is tough, but is not as hard than the finishing "Muur of Hoei" (up to 19 %) or the final steep 16 % slope in the worlds. I don't think Ala will be able to do better than some climbers and allrounders on that Roche-aux-faucons. So, I understand he doesn't want to compete in the Flèche, but it's not the best choice.

RAF is about the same length, gradient, and distance from the finish as the final climb in the World Championship that Alaphilippe just won.

 

[gerundium]

Was just thinking Julian is now in the unique position to win 2x LBL in the world championship jersey this worlds cycle.

 

[cellardoor]

Does he really want to leave out the Ardennes?

Where are you getting this info from? It doesn't align with any of the articles I've read on CN, nor with PCS.

 

[BlueRoads]

Where are you getting this info from? It doesn't align with any of the articles I've read on CN, nor with PCS.

Someone here in the forum said he might, I don't remember where because I'm starting to mix up the threads. But it makes way more sense that he's just skipping Flèche.
It's the race he can win more easily, but Liège is a monument and he's never won it. If he's bad in both races the sponsors won't be happy either.

 

[Zoef-Lightning]

RAF is about the same length, gradient, and distance from the finish as the final climb in the World Championship that Alaphilippe just won.

Not quite. Gallisterna - 11 % (16 %). LRA 9,5 % (14 %). After the "official" top of the LRA is situated a plateau and a second climb. That means that LRA is less suited for a grasshopper as Alaphilippe.