Alaphilippe reveals return schedule and confirms Vuelta a España presence

It has been two and a half months since Julian Alaphilippe has crashed harshly during Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and now, fully recovered from his injuries, the focus is in returning to racing soon and to quickly be back to form ahead of the Vuelta a España and the World championships which will be his last goals of the season.

"Julian will be well at the start of the next Vuelta," Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team manager Patrick Lefevere said during the Tour de France's rest day. "For now, he is training and he is very relaxed. He feels much better physically. We are not going to lie to each other, it was very hard for us and for our sponsor not to select him for the Tour this year because he is a double world champion, French and extremely popular."

Alaphilippe's absence from the Tour was a surprise despite the fact that he wasn't carrying his best form, aswell as the initial non-selection of Florian Sénéchal - and to a certain degree, Mark Cavendish. "Not long ago, he said to his friend and teammate Dries Devenyns: 'Finally, luckily I'm not on the Tour this year otherwise I'd be knocked out after eight days.' Our choice not to have him selected therefore seems justified," Lefevere explained.

The World champion is currently training in altitude in Livigno, Italy, and has revealed his calendar ahead of his second Vuelta a España, where he he will be aiming for stage wins and form ahead of the Wollongong Worlds where he will try and obtain a third consecutive rainbow title.

He will be racing the Ethias-Tour de Wallonie from the 23rd to 27th of July, Clásica San Sebastián in the 30th of June and the Tour de l'Ain from the 9th to 11th of August. The Vuelta a España begins on the 19th of August in Utrecht.