Completing his set of Grand Tour stage wins,
Julian Alaphilippe emphatically returned to form with a thunderous solo victory on stage 12 of the 2024
Giro d'Italia last week. Between that triumph and his last Grand Tour stage win at the 2021 Tour de France however, has been an immense struggle.
A former two-time world champion, Alaphilippe was near the very peak of his powers in 2021. Sadly, things quickly changed in the year after, as at
Liege-Bastogne-Liege 2022, the Frenchman crashed horribly. Alaphilippe's partner, and race director of the Tour de France Femmes,
Marion Rousse recently revealed how the
Soudal - Quick-Step still struggles with the after effects of the Liege crash that ended with two broken ribs, serious injuries in his shoulder and a punctured lung.
"Even when he talks about it today, he still has tears in his eyes," Rousse explains in an open and honest reflection of her partner's lesser few years, in conversation with L'Equipe. "He saw himself die. He could no longer breathe when Romain Bardet appeared at his side. He cried when we spoke on the phone in the evening. He was really affected, and it is hard for me and those around him to find the right words."
Struggling both mentally and physically to live up to his prior successes in the years since that nightmarish crash, Alaphilippe has always remained a fond favourite of the wider cycling world and his recent Giro d'Italia stage win was one of the most warmly received victories in a long while.
Arguably helping Alaphilippe's close bond with supporters, his team boss at Soudal - Quick-Step,
Patrick Lefevere has been a vocal and at times, very personal critic of the Frenchman in recent times. Rousse herself has been involved in a spat with Lefevere recently, after the controversial and outspoken Belgian criticised Alaphilippe's supposed party lifestyle.
"We have to tell him that things will turn around, but what can we say after two years of hardship?" Rousse asks, before crediting his teammates for their support amongst the controversy. "He never felt alone in the team. Everyone told him, 'Julian, we like you.' Pieter Serry, for example, sent a message saying he would 'do everything to make sure that Julian wins again one day.'"
