With the announced absence of Remco Evenepoel for the Tour de France, Julian Alaphilippe will have free rein to seek a stage victory.
The Soudal-Quick Step did not take long to decide. A few days after the abandonment of Remco Evenepoel on the Tour of Italy, Patrick Lefevere, the boss of the Belgian formation, was categorical. There is no question of changing the plans of its leader and send him on the Tour de France. “The best for him is to recover, to relax. We will then do the post-covid health examinations and redo a program ”added Lefevere about Evenepoel.
This is important news for the other Quick Step riders, and in particular those who were scheduled for the Tour de France. The Belgian formation will therefore keep its initial strategy, and should rely on two leaders, Fabio Jakobsen and Julian Alaphilippe.
For the Frenchman, this is very important data. If Evenepoel had come to the Tour, the whole team would have been centered around him. Alaphilippe himself had sacrificed himself for the Belgian in Liège-Bastogne-Liège this year, or at the start of the Vuelta last year. On the Tour, “Loulou” will no doubt take a few stints to prepare for Jakobsen’s sprints, but that has nothing to do with putting himself at the service of a leader who is playing for victory in the general classification.
As expected, Alaphilippe will have free rein to do Alaphilippe, or in any case try to repeat his exploits of previous years, by winning one or more stages, or why not by wearing the yellow jersey. This is not trivial for the Frenchman, whose future is uncertain within the Soudal-Quick Step team. He won’t have any other great opportunities to show he’s still capable of great things.
