Alaphilippe sacrificing races for freshness ahead of Yorkshire Worlds
Frenchman learns from 2018 disappointment,ꦿ gives up post-Tour de France criter🀅ium cash





Nearing the end of a dream 2019 season, few would blame 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Julian Alaphilippe (168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Deceuninck-QuickStep) for being satisfied with his lot.
With 12 new additions to his palmarès including wins at Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo and two stages of the Tour de France – not to mention fifth overall there after spending 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:two weeks in the yellow jersey – the Frenchman has packed more success into a single yeaꦦr than most riders see in their entire careers.
But despite his astounding successes from January to July, there could yet be more to come as Alaphilippe and his inner circle plan a third act to his phenomenal 2019. The 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:World Championships road race in Yorkshire is the final goal of his season, after the spring Classics a🌳nd Tour de France.
Getting there in top form, for a third peak in five months, will take some managing though. It wasᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ a balance he couldn't strike in 2018, finding success in April and July before his bid for Worlds glory stalled on the brutal, near-30 per cent slopes of Höttinger Höll in the race finale in Innsbruck.
This year, things could be different, with Alaphilippe's cousin and coach Franck Alaphilippe outlining a revised run-up to a Worlds featuring a less bruꦿtal course in an ♈.
"After the Tour, he was at the end of the line," said Franck. "At the end he put pressure on himself; he knew he wouldn't win it, but he played the game. If he hadn't cut down [his time on the bike], it wꦦould have been difficult to make the end of the se⛦ason.
In the week after the Tour, Alaphilippe took on a light schedule,🍒 riding two hours of the Clásica San Sebástian and just one post-Tour criterium. Then came 12 days off the bike before he resumed training last week.
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"Obviously, a recovery is a bit complicated, and there's always doubt," Alaphilippe continued. "After a two-week break, will the condit🌌ion be good in September? Julian was doubting it even before the start of the Tour.
"He said that he didn't have the same feelings as the previous year, but we ﷺsaw what he gave. He's someone who needs racing to reassure himself."
Rejecting what would have been a deluge of offers to race various post-Tour criteriums meant missing𝔍 out on the sizeable appearance fees. However, saving energy to recover from the demands of a taxing Tour de France could bring an even bigger reward down the road.
In the end, he restricted himself to the Aix-en-Provence criterium, 'winning' the race ahead of Cofidis rider Christo🔜phe Laporte.
"He could have made a lot of money,"༒ said Thomas Voeckler, manager of the French national team, and someone who knows exactly what Alaphilippe has been through, having spent long stints defending yellow at both the 2004 and 2011 Tours de France.
"His decision shows his state of mind," he continued. "Especially since he was decompressing. I've ꦆbeen through this – I know what he 🙈feels, what he needs."
Alaphilippe is set to be the leader of Voeckler's squad, and one of the big favourites for victory on a course "tailor-made for him", according to the ex-pro. With 3970 metres of elevation, punchy climbs galore, and an uphill finish, Alaphilippe will po🅠ssibly be the only true co𒉰ntender on the French team.
It's doubly i🅺mportant then, that his buildup 🐷and preparation for the race are spot-on.
"The World Championships is in just over five weeks. I 💫think – I hope – that I have reassured Thomas about Julian's motivation," said Franck Alaphilippe. "On physical fitness, it is true, that we are stillꦛ far from the peak.
"Next week he will do so♛me training with intensity before the Tour of Germany. This four-day race should give hi🍷m a boost."
Alaphilippe will then head to Canada for the first time since 2016, to race the Grands Prix Québec and Montréal. Six race days is a far cry from the 13 he completed la𝔍st year, where he took overall victories at the Tours of Britain and Slovakia.
"With the💦 base he has acquired from his big season – and his talent – this programme will be enough," said Voeckler. The new plan is to conserve Alaphilippe's energy, rat🌞her than spend it chasing more wins at lesser races.
"Each time the scenario was the same," Alaphilippe says of his cousin's preparation in 2018. "He took the leader'♏s jersey, which forced him to race at the front, to accumulate pressure. He left some energy there.
"That plan didn't work," added🌃 Voeckler. "This time it will be different. Julian will have more 'juice' than last year. We will do everything to ensure that his physical condition is optimal."

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Roul🌼eur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.