Julian Alaphilippe ahead of Provence queen stage: "The legs will do the talking on the climb"

After another successful day, Julian Alaphilippe extended his gap on the GC fight against his main rivals Nairo Quintana and Pierre Latour. The win didn't come, but the World champion remains optimistic.

“I did the best I could in the sprint, which was fast and nervous. Before that, on the last classified climb, I had already put in a brutal effort, so after that I was just happy to be well placed in the last kilometers, which I did thanks to the great work of my teammates," Alaphillipe let out after a hard day in the saddle and a gruelling uphill sprint where only Bryan Coquard had the best of him.

I am satisfied with this result, as I knew Bryan was faster, and I’m already looking forward to Sunday’s stage. The legs will do the talking on the climb, and I just want to give my maximum there, have fun, bring some more joy to the fans and see what happens”

Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team worked hard today to make sure the peloton had a chance to fight for the stage win. Alaphilippe kept his powder dry until the sprint and almost net his first win of the season. Although he has never been explicit about it, GC should be on his mind as he is in a very good position and will be the rider to attack. However he's got a strong support team where Ilan van Wilder and Louis Vervaeke should be crucial, he's got a gap of 12 seconds to Pierre Latour and 30 to Nairo Quintana which may be enough to see him on the top step of the podium tomorrow when it comes to the overall classification.