Having been competitive in several of the Monuments that he has competed in throughout his career, there is only one of the major one-day races that
Julian Alaphilippe is yet to ride and that is
Paris-Roubaix.
The Hell of the North is not suited to the Frenchman’s attributes, as he stated in an episode of
Soudal - Quick-Step’s The Wolfpack Howls podcast that “the cobblestones are horrible. It’s fine for walking, but not for cycling. I don’t know why we love these races so much. I’m lucky enough to prefer Flanders to Roubaix”.
However, as France’s only Monument, Paris-Roubaix is on the bucket list of most French riders and Alaphilippe is no different, as he said that “in December I asked the team if I could do it. I would like to race Paris-Roubaix once in my career. I know I contradict myself with what I just said. I think I’m too light, that I’ll suffer, but I’d still like to do it. It’s the history of cycling”.
The race is currently not on Alaphilippe’s schedule for 2024, but is currently set to ride the Ronde van Vlaanderen. He looked set for a podium finish at the race in 2020, but suffered an unfortunate crash in the closing kilometres.
On the Flemish Monument, Alaphilippe said “the Tour of Flanders is one of the biggest and most difficult races of the year, with a great history behind it. Just being at the start makes you feel something special. You can write the story or live a 6 hour nightmare. I love it”.
