Julian Alaphilippe: "It's nice to be back in a competition, This is good for my morale"

Julian Alaphilippe won the first stage of the Tour de Wallonie. It was his second victory of the season.

Alaphilippe has finally returned to track after a lengthy recovery period. The rider is pleased with his victory, given he was not in his best form during the last few months." I am very happy to have won in Huy. This is the ideal scenario for me," said Alaphilippe.

He describes his experience of the first stage. "The race was very tough. I asked my team to make the race hard before the foot of the Wall. I knew I had to be well positioned at the bottom of the Wall, and of course, I needed good legs. When I saw Aranburu doing the sprint, it was almost 300 meters to go. That was a bit far, but I didn't want to let the gap get too big. I still had the energy to make a big effort in the last 150 meters," said Alaphilippe.

Since his crash in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the rider has only participated in the national championship in the month of June. He was not selected for Tour de France, which surprised everyone, given he was making a steady recovery. With victory in the first stage, he is aiming for GC. "It's nice to be back in a competition like this. This feels good. I started this race with a lot of motivation. This is good for my morale. I will now fight to keep the leader's jersey,” concluded Alaphilippe.