Julian Alaphilippe is well in the selection unveiled this Monday by Thomas Voeckler for the world championship, September 25 in Wollongong, Australia.
"
I got him the day he fell, I told him to let a few days pass, we'll take stock later.
Then, a short week later, he told me of his desire to go to Australia, but it had to be submitted to medical validation.
And that of his team.
But his desire was overflowing to come.
His condition will not be optimal.
He would have been 100% if he had finished the Vuelta recovering behind.
I had built a team around that.
What is certain is that he will not come to Australia for tourism but for something.
I will not say if it will be to run for him, to lend a hand, to be in the collective.
I myself am unable to say what level of form he will be on Sunday, September 25.
“Summarizes Thomas Voeckler about the world champion who has collected misfortunes this year.
“
He saw more hospitals than he did races
“, has, during the season released disillusioned Patrick Lefevere in L’Équipe.
Against the watch.
The whole season of Julian Alaphilippe looked like a chase to allow the world champion to get back in the saddle.
Fallen (a spectacular sun in the dust raised by the white stones) during the Strade Bianche in March, the world champion was then the victim of an extremely violent fall during Liège-Bastogne-Liège in April.
Fallen into a ditch, rescued by Romain Bardet, the rider of the Quick-Step team had been found with fractures of the ribs, a scapula and a hemopneumothorax.
He had done everything to line up for the Tour de France but was ultimately not selected.
He had struggled to digest the verdict of his team but planned to revive in view of the defense of his title of world champion, passing through the Vuelta.
To help Remco Evenepoel.
Turn your back on
a shitty start to the season
”.
Weary, during the 11th stage of the Tour of Spain, on August 31, 65 km from the finish in Cabo de Gata, a right turn in the crossing of a village, posted at the head of the peloton, Julian Alaphilippe has slipped.
Thrown to the ground, seated, dazed, he quickly grabbed his right shoulder.
Feeling he couldn't get back to racing, he took the time to collect his thoughts.
Arms in a sling, he quickly went back to the hospital box to carry out a new battery of tests.
Before tackling a new and uncertain race against the clock to land on the starting line of the Worlds, in Wollongong, Australia.
A circuit for punchers.
Double reigning world champion, the Frenchman could, if his condition allows it, try to join the Slovak Peter Sagan, the only runner titled three times consecutively, in 2015, 2016 and 2017 (Alfredo Binda, Rik Van Steenbergen, Eddy Merckx and Oscar Freire, the other record holders with three titles having not chained their successes).
Quickly back on a bike in September, Julian Alaphilippe, carried by a morale that has never wavered, did everything to reduce the recovery time.
In 2022, he has only 2 victories (a stage of the Tour of the Basque Country and a stage of the Tour of Wallonia) in 43 days of racing.
With a reserved place as reigning world champion, he does not take the place of anyone in the team composed by Thomas Voeckler.
Julian Alaphilippe (30) hopes to be able to participate and influence the events during his 7th world championships (retirement in Richmond in 2015; 10th in Bergen in 2017, he was caught 2 km from the finish; 8th in Innsbruck in 2018; 28th in Yorkshire in 2019, before titles at Imola in 2020, then in Louvain in 2021).
“
If Julian had been 100%, we would have been the favorite team.
With Belgium.
This will not be the case, we consider ourselves an outsider.
It does not change the ambition, I only consider the bike by winning.
The ambition is to win.
There will be 200 guys at the start, I'm just exaggerating, only one will win.
If we put everything in place, everyone has pulled out their guts and we don't win, it doesn't matter, it's sport and if we bring back a good result like in Munich, with a silver medal (Arnaud Démare), in these cases, it's not a failure, we appreciate it.
But the initial idea is win or nothing
,” assures Thomas Voeckler, who draws: “
The journey is inspiring.
There are things to do with great adversity, with the Pogacars, the Van Aert-Evenepoel duo, Matthews, Van der Poel… We talk a lot about the course, I hear less about the race scenario, just as important, with scenarios that can happen there…
”
