For several years now Julian Alaphilippe has struggled to match the best in the top classics. At Liège-Bastogne-Liège we have perhaps seen the Frenchman at his best level once again, but cramps in the finale of the long and difficult race saw the former World Champion sink down the results sheet.
Alaphilippe was two times second at La Doyenne, and in 2020 he celebrated a victory that turned out not to be one – he was overtaken at the line, but also later relegated for an irregular sprint. That was his last good result in the last of the Ardennes classics, as in later years he would struggle with lack of form, illness or even absence due to injuries. This Sunday he showed his best level (now in a peloton that races with an extra gear).
“I don’t regret how I raced. I felt good all day, but I was at my limit after La Redoute,” Alaphilippe said in words to Cyclism’Actu. Alaphilippe was part of the four-rider group that was chasing Tadej Pogacar, but gave few turns at the front of the peloton as he attempted to recover from the effort.
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