Julian Alaphilippe in pole position for Tour de la Provence: "I’m happy, as the legs were good and I had fun"

It was a hard day on the bike in Provence as the peloton rode the flat stage at an average speed of over 46km/h but some conclusions could be taken from it, one being that Julian Alaphilippe is eyeing the GC and is in a very good position to take it.

“Everyone awaited a nervous and a fast day, which was the case. We were well represented in the front, I’m happy, as the legs were good and I had fun. Once the split was made, everybody rode à bloc and contributed to the fierce pace that was driven at the front," Alaphilippe said after a trip to the podium. Having made the decisive split, the World champion managed to get himself in the leading group with the team's other two possible GC contenders in Ilan Van Wilder and Louis Vervaeke. In bonifications, both from the final sprint and the intermediate sprints, Alaphilippe took ten seconds, and as he was already ahead of most of his rivals, he is now in pole position when it comes to the overall contenders.

"In the finale, I knew it would be difficult to win the sprint with Elia, but that didn’t stop me from trying. It’s been a really nice start and I’m already looking forward to the weekend. There will be two more opportunities for us and we’ll try our best," he commented, after finishing third in the final sprint, only behind Elia Viviani and Israel - Premier Tech's Sep Vanmarcke. Upon the attack of Maciej Bodnar with eigth kilometers to go, Alaphilippe briefly saw himself ahead of the peloton as he tried to bridge across, however he decided to let INEOS Grenadiers to do the work.

Tomorrow will be a good opportunity for Alaphilippe to take his opening win of the season, however what he'll be eyeing the most is Sunday's mountain top finish at the Montagne du Lure, where he will be a candidate for the stage win but above all where he can consolidate his first GC win since the Tour de Slovaquie 2018.