“It’s maybe my last one...” – As Simon Yates retires, Julian Alaphilippe reflects on whether 2026 could be a season of finalities

The timing was striking. On the same day that Simon Yates confirmed his immediate retirement from professional cycling, Julian Alaphilippe was speaking openly about the long view of his own career and the possibility that some of cycling’s biggest stages may soon carry added finality.

Alaphilippe’s recently unveiled 2026 calendar already hinted at a season shaped with intent. Now, his own words give that programme greater emotional weight. The 33-year-old made clear that while retirement is not imminent, the milestones ahead are no longer being taken for granted.

“It’s maybe my last one, and it’s also on the Montreal circuit, which I like, so it can be a big goal,” Alaphilippe explains in conversation with reporters at the Tudor Pro Cycling Team media day.

The reference was to the Road World Championships in Montreal, a race that now sits alongside the Tour de France and the Ardennes Classics as one of the defining targets of his season.

Alaphilippe has been careful not to frame 2026 as a farewell tour. Instead, his language points to clarity rather than caution. His decision to strip back his spring campaign and avoid mixing the Flemish Classics with the Ardennes was framed as a return to what works best for him. “I think I will come back to more of a classic programme from my side, by not mixing the Flemish Classics and the Ardennes.”

That choice places Liege Bastogne Liege at the centre of his spring, supported by Amstel Gold Race and Fleche Wallonne. It is a deliberate narrowing of focus rather than a step back, something he described in terms of motivation rather than limitation. “I will be more focused on the Ardennes. I like it and give me a lot of motivation.”

The structure of his season mirrors that mindset. An early start at the Volta ao Algarve, a March block through Italy and the Basque Country, a concentrated Ardennes campaign, then a return to the Tour de France before shifting attention towards Montreal.

The Canadian setting carries particular resonance. Alaphilippe’s lone victory of 2025 came on those same roads at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, a result he described as deeply personal. “Every victory is important, but this one was a victory I was really looking for a long time. Of course, I enjoyed it. It’s quite emotional.”

That success now feeds directly into his thinking for 2026. Rather than chasing volume or novelty, the programme reflects a rider intent on revisiting places and races that still spark something deeper.

Asked directly about his future, Alaphilippe resisted setting any kind of countdown. Unlike Yates, whose decision to stop was rooted in a sense of completion, Alaphilippe insisted that his own situation feels very different. “In this moment, I’m not in a situation to think about whether I should continue or not because I know I’m super motivated for this year and for 2027.”

That motivation, he explained, has only sharpened during his second season with Tudor Pro Cycling Team, where he has been given greater autonomy over how his seasons are shaped. “I know how to be professional, but also to have this freedom to choose my races, to choose the way I can do my things, it’s a privilege, and I appreciate it.”

The fire, as he put it, is still there. “When you still have this fire in you, that’s a good sign.”

Whether 2026 becomes a season of finalities or simply another carefully chosen chapter remains unresolved. But on a day when one contemporary chose to close the book, Alaphilippe made it clear that he is still very much writing his own.