What if Julian Alaphilippe was soon running for a French team?

Will the best French cyclist of the 21st century return to a French team, nine years after leaving the French Army team?

Julian Alaphilippe, 28, will end his contract with his Deceuninck-Quick-Step training on December 31, 2021, even if it is rumored that a clause in his contract would allow him to extend for a year if he wishes. .

Officially, the transfer season doesn't open until August 1.

But by this date, everything will already be completed.

And spring 2021, in terms of negotiations, will be decisive.

A champion of the caliber of Alaphilippe would necessarily be a major asset for the notoriety of any French team.

All things considered, it would be for the world of cycling as if Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi, who made their careers abroad, signed for a Portuguese or Argentinian club.

For now, a return to France of the 2020 world champion still seems unlikely.

But far from impossible.

Can he still stay in Belgium?

Julian Alaphilippe flourished at Deceuninck-Quick-Step where he has been racing since 2014 after a first season with Etixx-iHNed, the reserve team.

"I am very fulfilled in the role I have," he explained in L'Equipe.

I have built a healthy relationship with her, I love her mentality, the way of running that I identify with.

It fits perfectly with the runner that I am today, initially focused on the classics.

But Patrick Lefévère, the historic boss of Belgian training, does not always keep his emblematic riders if their successions are assured.

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This year, it is already the case with the Belgian prodigy Remco Evenepoel, 19, announced as the new star of Belgian and world cycling even if a terrible fall during the last Tour of Lombardy slowed him down last fall.

In Belgium, he is nicknamed "the little cannibal", in reference to the absolute idol Eddy Merckx.

As long as Evenepoel achieves a high-level first part of the season - he should be a direct competitor to Alaphilippe for the Olympic title next year - Lefévère could well be tempted to bet everything on him from 2021.

Who is best placed to welcome it in France?

Alaphilippe on the market would inevitably stir the appetites of many teams.

"The Covid crisis has weakened many formations and the French teams have resisted better, explains Jean-René Bernaudeau, the boss of Direct Energie who had tried to bring Alaphilippe to his home two years ago.

If there are to be discussions with Julian, the French could have arguments.

"

To welcome a runner of the caliber of Alaphilippe, only World Tour teams, guaranteed to compete in the best events, can clearly line up.

Cofidis decided to play the card of another Frenchman, Guillaume Martin.

Groupama-FDJ is not interested and the announced successor of Thibaut Pinot is called David Gaudu.

Julian Alaphilippe would gain further popularity if he signed for a French team. / AFP / Marco Bertorello  

Remains AG2R-Citroën.

Vincent Lavenu, his boss, does not hide his game. "We must first check that it is on the market, but a priori, it must be the case, he launched recently.

We will not refrain from trying our luck.

He's an attractive racer, one of the best in the world, and from the moment you have a partner of this stature (

Editor's note: Citroën

), there is no reason not to try.

"

His best friend as a scout to convince him?

Bernaudeau had offered him nearly 4 million euros per year salary, almost three times his emoluments elsewhere and Alaphilippe had refused.

"It is not with a check that we will attract him," he admits.

Julian wants sporting arguments above all.

Emmanuel Hubert, the general manager of Arkéa-Samsic, does not say anything else.

"A type of his caliber, he needs solid guarantees at the team level," he said.

Cycling is not an individual sport.

A guy on a team where he's not happy won't do anything.

"

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And there, Vincent Lavenu, as a poker player, tried to get a head start: Luxembourgish Bob Jungels, Alaphilippe's best friend in the peloton, left… Deceuninck-Quick-Step to sign for two years in the Savoyard team.

Like a scout… And the arrival at AG2R-Citroën of Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet is another sporting argument for Alaphilippe.

And for possible ambitions in the overall standings in the Tour de France, Lavenu can argue that his team has solid hopes (Benoît Cosnefroy, Aurélien Paret-Peintre and Clément Champoussin), not to mention any South American talents recruited in 2022.

What impact on French cycling?

“It would be very nice for French cycling, already imagines Emmanuel Hubert.

He gives off something strong and sincere and the audience can feel it.

"Julian does not need to sign in France to exist and be loved even more by the French public, weighs Marc Madiot, the boss of Groupama-FDJ.

On the other hand, it would be a little more for the team which, in this hypothesis, would enlist him.

And for the budget in order to enroll him, the French teams will be very well placed.

“Especially AG2R with the arrival of Citroën, which is committed as a co-sponsor by investing 7 million euros per year until 2025.

In terms of advertising spinoffs, AG2R and Citroën would have a lot to gain by adding their names to that of one of the favorite sportsmen of the French.

Even more Citroën because a French car manufacturer investing in the bicycle brings back good memories while Alaphilippe has never ruled out the possibility of concentrating one day on the general classification of the Tour de France.

However, the last three French winners of the Grande Boucle won it in particular under the colors of car brands, with Peugeot (Bernard Thévenet) and Renault (Hinault and Fignon) ...