After Amstel Gold Race, Julian Alaphilippe also forced to skip Flèche Wallone - "I am already thinking about the Tour de France"

Julian Alaphilippe has had a difficult spring and his main goals are once again being hampered by injuries. The Frenchman has suffered another fall at the Tour of Flanders and has since been treating knee bursitis, which is forcing him to miss most if not all the Ardennes classics.

The former World Champion had the Tour of Flanders as his main goal of the season, but his build-up was far from ideal, suffering from minor health issues in the leading-up classics. At Milano-Sanremo he was victim of poor positioning which saw him finish outside the Top10, and in the Ronde he was involved in the mass crash where Wout van Aert also went down. However the consequences of it have dragged on for the Frenchman.

“If everything goes well, I will still be able to start in Liège. However, that will be fully employed by Remco," Evenepoel admitted in an interview with L'Équipe. "I hope to be able to help the team in this way and to close the first part of the season well, but I am already thinking about the Tour de France.”

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After missing Amstel Gold Race, Alaphilippe will now miss Fléche Wallone too, a race he's won in 2018, 2019 and 2021. He was set to be the team's leader in the race which ends atop the fitting Mur de Huy. Alaphilippe is already setting his sights in the summer as his form is less than ideal, but hopes to play a supportive role for Remco Evenepoel at Liège-Bastogne-Liége.