It has been a rough couple of seasons for Julian Alaphilippe. Once one of the most highly regarded riders in the peloton after he secured back-to-back world championship titles in 2020-2021, the Frenchman has struggled for form and fitness in the years since. On stage 12 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia however, Alaphilippe emphatically returned to top form.
Part of the day's breakaway, Alaphilippe was on the attack for more than 120km during the stage. With his typically aggressive style finally getting rewarded, the 31-year-old arrived solo to the finish line, taking the stage win and completing his collection of Grand Tour stage successes in the process. "It was my dream to win a stage in the Giro and I did it!" Alaphilippe said post-stage. "I'm really happy."
Alaphilippe's controversial and outspoken team boss at Soudal - Quick-Step was also happy with the rider's triumph. Patrick Lefevere has been Alaphilippe's most vocal critic over the recent 'lesser' seasons, using his newspaper column to repeatedly lambast his star's performances. Earlier this year, the team boss even went so far as to publicly criticise Alaphilippe's personal life and his supposed love of parties and alcohol.
"I repeated enough that I was not content. It wasn't personal. It was not enough for what he can do and what he is paid for. I was not thanked for that. Maybe I didn't say it in the right way," Lefevere assesses of his critique in conversation with HLN after Alaphilippe's maiden Giro d'Italia stage win. "I just don't have a different style now."
"In the spring it didn't work out again. Julian became demoralised. He was dropped, way too early for him. Then it turned out he had suffered a fracture of the fibula in a fall at Strade Bianche. He still finished ninth in Milan-Sanremo," Lefevere recalls. "I wanted him to ride the Giro. The courses suit him. Also the way of racing, because it goes a bit wild."
So now, with Alaphilippe returning to form and taking a stage win, does Lefevere feel vindicated for his treatment of the Frenchman? "I proposed last year to lower his contract. Not that I would humiliate him, I would not hit him with a hammer. My proposal was to pay him less pay in 2024, but also to include 2025. That proved I still had faith. That was refused and that's where it stopped for me," he concludes. "But look, Julian is now proving me wrong. I like that. And I don't feel too good to admit it. Not that I'm one hundred per cent wrong. Because we are talking about money. And that has to be filled in too. It's not my style to extend a rider's contract for less money. But again, I cannot say he has ridden well in the last two years."
For his part, Alaphilippe refuted the fact he was ever truly gone from the elite in his post-stage interview. "I have never been dead," he said. "There was a time when it was a little less. That's part of a cycling career, it's hard to always be at the top. You need patience and perseverance. Today was the best answer to the criticism."
Le voyage est souvent plus beau que la destination. Merci à tout l’équipe et aussi a mon companion du jour @mircomaestri9 pour cette journée avec le coeur, la tête et les jambes 🙌 Merci aussi à tous pour vos nombreux messages 🙏 La résilience, n’oubliez pas la résilience.
