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Teams & Riders Julian Alaphilippe Discussion Thread

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No more cafeine in his final bidon from now on, please.

I was thinking the same. I have hardly seen anyone be so twitchy in the finale of a bike race.

I hope he didn't lose too many fans because of today. He is still one of the best and most entertaining bike riders on the planet. And I think he is a decent person as well even if Tony Gallopin probably will not agree with that.
 
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I really should have seen this coming with Alaphilippe, he's exactly the type of guy where wearing the rainbow jersey makes him go insane.
Sure, he did some mistakes but I think people fail to see the good side - since he won Worlds he looks more relaxed and is attacking even more than before. Despite the mistakes he was the one who made LBL and Brabantse exciting way before the finish. No doubt he will be attacking also in RV, I just hope he doesn't need to sprint for the win again.
 
Sure, he did some mistakes but I think people fail to see the good side - since he won Worlds he looks more relaxed and is attacking even more than before. Despite the mistakes he was the one who made LBL and Brabantse exciting way before the finish. No doubt he will be attacking also in RV, I just hope he doesn't need to sprint for the win again.
I'm still a big fan. Animating races in that beautifull rainbow jersey, the guy still breathes panache.
 
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In the Belgian cycling talkshow Extra Time Koers, both Tiesj Benoot and Jan Bakelants emphasized how friendly and down to earth Julian Alaphilippe is. They said that, yes he is a special kind of nervous during races, but never intentionally arrogant or unsportsmanlike. He was called a deserving and proper world champion. They also stated that the relegation on Sunday was the right decision, but his manoeuvre wasn't close to the Groenewegen-Jakobsen sprint in terms of danger (considering no barriers nearby and Julian's one impulse versus the double move of Dylan).
 
Sure, he did some mistakes but I think people fail to see the good side - since he won Worlds he looks more relaxed and is attacking even more than before. Despite the mistakes he was the one who made LBL and Brabantse exciting way before the finish. No doubt he will be attacking also in RV, I just hope he doesn't need to sprint for the win again.
to be clear, i love this stuff. it's one of my favorite bits about cycling. i made fun of Voeckler all the time but he truly believed the yellow jersey gave him superhuman powers and that's why he was so fun to watch in 2011
 
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In the Belgian cycling talkshow Extra Time Koers, both Tiesj Benoot and Jan Bakelants emphasized how friendly and down to earth Julian Alaphilippe is. They said that, yes he is a special kind of nervous during races, but never intentionally arrogant or unsportsmanlike. He was called a deserving and proper world champion. They also stated that the relegation on Sunday was the right decision, but his manoeuvre wasn't close to the Groenewegen-Jakobsen sprint in terms of danger (considering no barriers nearby and Julian's one impulse versus the double move of Dylan).

Not every unsportsman-esque manoeuvre ends like the Groenewegen one, i.e. that's a very extreme outlier (hint: there's a huge spectrum between "innocent" versus almost killing someone).

Alaphilippe absolutely looked behind him on Sunday before starting his sprint & absolutely deliberately blocked Hirschi. He also swerved just in front of Roglic around the 1 km mark as well, so his race tactics on that particular day did absolutely involve some skulduggery. He got what he deserved in any case in one of the most comical self-inflicted embarrassments in recent cycling history.
 
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Not every unsportsman-esque manoeuvre ends like the Groenewegen one, i.e. that's a very extreme outlier (hint: there's a huge spectrum between "innocent" versus almost killing someone).

Alaphilippe absolutely looked behind him on Sunday before starting his sprint & absolutely deliberately blocked Hirschi. He also swerved just in front of Roglic around the 1 km mark as well, so his race tactics on that particular day did absolutely involve some skulduggery. He got what he deserved in any case in one of the most comical self-inflicted embarrassments in recent cycling history.
I think what Benoot and Bakelandts are saying (and it's hard to disagree) is that it's one thing to swerve towards the middle of the road and give your opponent a longer line to pass you (which is what Alaf overdid in Liege) and quite another to shut the door and slam them into the barriers.
 
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Does it really require an almost Tour victory, a World Championship win or a screw-up in a monument sprint to revive this thread?

Great stuff today and quite a curious rematch of the 2019 Tour. I was very surprised by how well he was climbing this early in the season. Nice showing after yesterday's disappointment.

And by the way, this is what a World Champion should look like. I know the Danish commentators always got an orgasm when Mads Pedersen was top five in a bunch sprint or survived longer than expected on a mountain stage, but it's so nice to see a superstar of the sport have that jersey and display it well.
 
I'm applying for this thread title to be changed to "The Amazing Alaphilippe".
For the past two years he has practically lightened up every race he entered. Either he's on stunning form and cruises to success or he fails, but even than it's close to spectacular, for whatever reasons. He always gives his all. I know they all say they do, but Alaphilippe obviously does, even when as a spectator you have no clue what it's for, when there is no direct reward to be gained. One might hold that against him, regard it as an unnecessary show, but he just makes a race a race.
 
I'm applying for this thread title to be changed to "The Amazing Alaphilippe".
For the past two years he has practically lightened up every race he entered. Either he's on stunning form and cruises to success or he fails, but even than it's close to spectacular, for whatever reasons. He always gives his all. I know they all say they do, but Alaphilippe obviously does, even when as a spectator you have no clue what it's for, when there is no direct reward to be gained. One might hold that against him, regard it as an unnecessary show, but he just makes a race a race.

I was thinking the same thing. He doesn't race, ever, to be pack filler. (well, maybe once in a while he'll take a day off, but that's usually to prepare for an attack the next day). Today he was clearly the patron of the peloton, even if he wasn't going to win the stage he was able to dictate the finish by attacking and shedding everyone except the Ineos climbers.
 
I'm applying for this thread title to be changed to "The Amazing Alaphilippe".
For the past two years he has practically lightened up every race he entered. Either he's on stunning form and cruises to success or he fails, but even than it's close to spectacular, for whatever reasons. He always gives his all. I know they all say they do, but Alaphilippe obviously does, even when as a spectator you have no clue what it's for, when there is no direct reward to be gained. One might hold that against him, regard it as an unnecessary show, but he just makes a race a race.
Change the thread title to How long more before the Inevitable Tour Win by Ala?
 

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