"It’s too soon to write him off": Julian Alaphilippe's partner Marion Rousse demands patience amidst dreadful spring

The 2026 spring campaign has turned into a sporting ordeal for Julian Alaphilippe. The Frenchman entered this spring with his traditional enthusiasm, aiming for at least a podium at some point, yet his record sheet was instead filled with abandons and subpar results, far from the spotlight. The reason for that was a persistent illness which ultimately meant that Aalphilippe did not even line up for the Liege-Bastogne-Liege last Sunday.

And so, instead of a glorious return to cobbles, where Alaphilippe once showed a great potential, the Tudor Pro Cycling rider has to accept a 20th place at Strade Bianche as his spring highlight while looking forward to a better summer.

His partner and current director of the Tour de France Femmes, Marion Rousse, moved to clarify the scale of the medical issues, confirming to the media that the 33-year-old is far from his top level.

"He’s struggling, he’s not in shape," admitted the former rider to HLN, laying bare the deep fatigue accumulated by the double world champion. The short-term plan is built on caution and a complete reset before pinning on a number again, to avoid rushing his body’s recovery timeline.

She continues: "He needs a break to get back to his level and lay foundations for the rest of the season," she stressed. The team’s primary goal is to line up their marquee rider in July at the Tour de France, a race for which they have acquired a wildcard through their 2025 exploits in yearly UCI ranking.

Despite the current setbacks, Alaphilippe is far from done with top-level cycling as he already plots his racing return with Tour de France and World Championships as the key checkpoints of 2026 for the 33-year-old rider. Even though the current generation seems to be drifting away from Alaphilippe's reach.

"There are no miracles in cycling," Rousse said with stark realism in a recent TV appearance, acknowledging the implacable passage of time in professional sport. "And he’s getting older. In the current generation, we pay dearly against riders like Pogacar, Seixas, Evenepoel, or Van der Poel," she argued, naming the new guard that rules the top races.

The French star’s palmarès is beyond dispute, with two world titles in 2020 and 2021, a Monument title from Milano-Sanremo in 2019, and three wins on the La Flèche Wallonne's trademark ascent Mur de Huy in 2018, 2019, and 2021.

While his dominance has ebbed over recent seasons, the rider’s winning instinct remains intact and still surfaces in moments that captivate fans worldwide. "It’s too soon to write Julian off," his partner warned, calling for respect for his imposing stature.

"He still loves what he does. And I think he can still achieve great things: not across an entire season, but in flashes of brilliance," she concluded.

After two meager campaigns in 2022 and 2023, Alaphilippe seemed to have rediscovered part of his passion the past two seasons as he managed to claim a Giro d'Italia stage win in 2024, and triumphed at GP de Québec last autumn. Another big triumph would definitely suit the autumn of Alaphilippe's career.