Julian Alaphilippe, on going to the Giro instead of the Tour: "It's not a punishment, it was my original idea"

Julian Alaphilippe has confirmed in L'Équipe what his boss at Soudal Quick-Step Patrick Levefere had already commented: that in 2024 he will ride the Giro d'Italia instead of the Tour de France.

The 2 times world champion wants to look for a new challenge in his career after a couple of years without too many good results and changing to another grand tour is the first step to do so. In the interview with the French newspaper, 'Loulou' explains that his idea this year was to ride the corsa rosa and that when he told Lefevere about it he agreed with him, as it was not planned that he would be among the group of riders called to accompany Remco Evenepoel in the Tour.

"I wanted a change. It was my original idea (the Giro, ed.) and when I mentioned it, Patrick [Lefevere] confirmed right away that he didn't want to see me as Remco's teammate. It's not a disappointment to miss the Tour de France."

We will see how the move works out for Alaphilippe, who in recent months has been under a lot of pressure from Patrick Lefevere, who is not at all satisfied with his performance. Despite this exchange of statements and despite having offers on the table, the rider has wanted to remain at Soudal Quick-Step and face a quieter season without the focus of all the French media on his back in the Grande Boucle. In the spring classics he finds perhaps his last chance to prove himself as a leader for the Belgian team.

Article written by Juan Larra.