“I’m happy I stopped” - Julian Alaphilippe explains why he retired at 34 with a year left at Tudor
Cycling
Julian Alaphilippe had another season left on his contract with Tudor Pro Cycling Team when he retired at 34. At a French Cycling Federation tribute in Paris on Thursday, the two-time world champion spoke publicly for the first time since August about why he was happy to walk away.
“I always wanted to stop at the right time and avoid going on a year too long,” Alaphilippe said at the event, as reported by L’Equipe. “I was getting less and less enjoyment out of modern cycling. I still felt useful to my team, but I felt it was time to turn the page.”
In August, Alaphilippe told Tudor he had woken up one morning at a training camp with the feeling that 2026 would be his final season. He announced his retirement on 21 August, less than a month after completing his eighth Tour de France.
From a solo win in Quebec to a final Tour de France
Alaphilippe joined Tudor in 2025 after more than a decade with Quick-Step. His three-year deal was due to run through 2027. In his first season with the Swiss team, he finished fifth overall at the Tour de Suisse and third on the Tour de France stage into Carcassonne. In September 2025, he attacked with 1.4 km to go to win the GP de Quebec, his last professional victory.
He went winless in 2026. Illness interrupted his spring campaign, and he abandoned Amstel Gold Race and La Fleche Wallonne before missing Liege-Bastogne-Liege on medical grounds. Fifth at GP Gippingen in June was his only top 10 of the season.
Alaphilippe admitted he was getting "less enjoyment" out of cycling
At the Tour, Alaphilippe made the four-man break on stage 11 but was the first rider dropped. He finished 125th overall, seven years after winning two stages and spending 14 days in yellow on his way to fifth. He ended his racing career on the Champs-Elysees on 26 July.
“Cycling was my outlet, but I’m happy I stopped,” he said. “I’m very grateful. I was lucky enough to spend about 15 years racing my bike.” He recalled the emotions those years had brought him, his family and the people watching. “I pushed myself hard to achieve the goals I’d set myself.”
Read also
Alaphilippe pays tribute to Voeckler and his cousin Franck
France coach Thomas Voeckler, who guided Alaphilippe to his world titles in Imola and Leuven, joined him on stage alongside Franck Alaphilippe, his cousin and former coach. Alaphilippe recalled what he and Voeckler had in common as riders, including “that crazy streak we both had”. He said Voeckler had become a friend who was there for him in difficult moments away from cycling.
“Franck doesn’t like the spotlight,” he said. “He hasn’t often had much recognition, but I owe a lot of what I achieved to him too. Franck, you’ve meant so much to me, both in my career and in my life.”
“When I see these images, I’m even happier with my decision,” Alaphilippe said after watching a montage of his victories. He thanked the federation for the tribute and said he wanted some time away from the spotlight.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- Right on. The more the merrier.Occam13-11-2026
- Remember, Del Toro struggled in this Tour. He is great, no doubt about that, but comparing him to a four time gt winner is absurd at this point. He has the potential. We'll have to see how he develops.awp13-11-2026
- what did Jonas gift and to whom? just curious, haven’t heard about this.mij13-11-2026
- You don't gift grand tours as it has come to light that Jonas has come to regret doing such.
Front24213-11-2026 - Exactly you said it urslf - he outclimbed del toro by 19 sec. 19SEC and you say hes alot better than del toro still lol? And can also do the same where del toro did that to jonas even and del toro dauphine numbers better than jonas all year so why this hard whats the issue its super easy stuff - del toro wasnt that before. Then factor in both their trajectory the last years and the answer is self explonatory like i said. Nothing against jonas like many do but the typing is no the wall and so stupidly easy as its so self explanatory now. Have a good daymiguel13-11-2026
- Dirty ex doperFront24213-11-2026
- As far as points go they need to take a page or ten out of the Astana playbook!Lozza13-11-2026
- Ah, seems he’s been busy elsewhere! 😆Lozza13-11-2026
- Where is he when you need him!? Wake up man! You’re missing an opportunity!Lozza13-11-2026
- A very true statement made by Johan Bruyneel: "We don’t know for sure about Jonas, because he dropped out of the Tour de France, but he would never have come close to Pogacar. Maybe he would have finished second. He won the Giro in dominant fashion and the Vuelta the year before, but Visma wants to win the Tour." That's exactly what I've been saying the last six months. If Pogi races with Jonas, the most he can be is second... UNLESS... Pogi crashes out or makes a BIG mistake, which is not likely to happen. Either Bruyneel thinks the way I do or he reads my posts. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans13-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment