"I don’t want to finish with regrets" - Julian Alaphilippe shows flashes of old-self before exploding at Amstel Gold Race 2025

Never one to go down without a fight, Julian Alaphilippe gave it his all to light up Amstel Gold Race 2025 this Sunday afternoon in the Netherlands. Despite having even Tadej Pogacar in difficulty for a short while however, the former world champion ultimately blew himself up - fading to a 20th place finish.

“I’m satisfied - I have no regrets. I raced on instinct and really wanted to anticipate Tadej’s move. But he also sort of anticipated himself, so it made things a bit tricky for me,” laughs the Tudor Pro Cycling Team star in his post-race interview afterwards. “I felt good, and like I said this morning: I don’t want to finish with regrets. So I think it was the right moment. Afterwards, I needed a bit of time to recover, and that meant I just missed out on making the right group. It is what it is.”

Although Alaphilippe needed time to recover following his race-splitting attack however, Pogacar was soon ready to go again. Sadly for the Frenchman, this spelt disaster for his chances of the win. “I thought that if I had a moment to recover, it might be possible. But Pogacar didn’t need any recovery time - unlike me," Alaphilippe explains. "The chasers came back quickly, and after that, it got really hard for me.”

Nevertheless, it's a bright and positive showing for the 32-year-old. Despite the fact he eventually crossed the line over three and a half minutes down on race winner Mattias Skjelmose, there were signs of his old, Rainbow Jersey winning self returning once more. “I’m happy because I felt good in the past few days and recovered well from the Itzulia Basque Country," concludes Alaphilippe's assessment of his race. "No regrets - I just hope the next two races go a little better. We’ll see.”