"I've never forgotten that day" - Julian Alaphilippe recounts the Tour de France highlight of his career

Julian Alaphilippe is one of the most iconic riders of the ten most recent editions of Tour de France. In 6 participations, he took 6 stages, finished 5th place overall, and won the mountains classification. The Frenchman also spent 18 days wearing the yellow jersey on his heroic quest in 2019.

It might be also partly thanks to his presence that Tudor Pro Cycling was invited this year for their Tour de France debut. "I know I have a history with the Tour, and not only because of my victories, but also because I had to face many different situations," Alaphilippe describes his relationship with Grande Boucle at Bistrot Vélo.

"Resilience and giving everything year after year with different challenges, whether it was winning the polka dot jersey, the yellow jersey, stage victories with Mark Cavendish but also Elia Viviani, Marcel Kittel… I experienced a lot of emotions on the Tour and these experiences have enriched me with so many memories… And of course, the public has always supported and encouraged me enormously. That's why returning to the roads of the Tour means a lot to me."

"I especially remember being at the start of my first Tour and having the dream of one day trying to win a stage. And my goal at that time was also to try to finish it, to arrive in Paris to say to myself: 'I've done the Tour de France and I've done the job for the team.'"

It did not take long for Alaphilippe who got a chance for rehearsal two years later. This time, he proceeded to write his name in the race's history without failure. "I never would have imagined achieving what I did after [my first start]. It's a source of pride, of course, because doing that on the roads of the Tour, the greatest race in the world, with the public, as a Frenchman, is magnificent. These emotions are magnified tenfold. It's incredible."

There's a long list of moments Alaphilippe likes to think back to, but perhaps his strongest memory would be his time trial victory in Pau while wearing the yellow jersey at the 2019 Tour. Albeit the Frenchman is not a terrible timetrialist, this victory far surpassed that at the 2017 Paris-Nice (which finished on a steep climb).

"The course suited me very well. I knew I had the best legs I'd ever had," he recalls. "And you're overwhelmed by the Yellow Jersey. The whole world expects you to lose the jersey and you want to show the opposite. But I still didn't think I'd win a time trial with the yellow jersey on your shoulders! It was special. I've never forgotten that day."

Since the Frenchman doesn't (under normal circumstances) fall into the category of GC leader, you might think he gets to ride carefree, striving in chaos and doing whatever he pleases. Well, that might be true at times, but you can only ever excel at that when it's backed by appropriate level.

"You enjoy yourself when you have good legs," he grins about whether Tour is the race where a rider like him can have a good time. "But in any case, it's up to me to find my way to enjoy it and try to meet the objectives I set for myself, for the stages I'm aiming for."