"I am convinced that he has the yellow jersey in a corner of his mind" - Cyrille Guimard believes Julian Alaphilippe will go after yellow jersey in Bilbao

It's been two years now since we last saw Julian Alaphilippe wearing the mighty yellow jersey at Tour de France. This year would normally offer yet another golden opportunity for French puncheur, but his current form remains a question mark. Cyrille Guimard, the man who assisted Laurent Fignon at penultimate French Tour de France triumph 40 years ago, mentions Alaphilippe in his blog at Cyclism'Actu.

"Concerning Julian Alaphilippe, if his problem at the French Championships is something accidental and temporary, the routes of the first two stages suit him and I am convinced that he has the yellow jersey in a corner of his mind," thinks Guimard.

"I think that the Julian we saw in the Dauphiné, with a tiny notch above, can get yellow jersey on the 1st stage, even if we can't be 100% optimistic after what the we saw on Sunday," adds Guimard.