"Now I have to recover" - Julian Alaphilippe concludes Vuelta a Espana preparation with fireworks at Tour de l'Ain

Julian Alaphilippe is on the hunt for top form, and his recent outing at the Tour de l'Ain saw him on the attack and testing his legs ahead of his next main goal, the Vuelta a Espana.

“I'm especially happy to be back in competition. I really wanted to do my best. It feels good to be at the start without pressure, without stress and just to have fun," Alaphilippe said at the end of the Tour de l'Ain. He entered the race with little ambitions, as he's coming back from injury and a subsequent Covid-19 infection, which has seen him far from his best form, however racing aggressively and showing good signs ahead of the Vuelta a Espana.

"I've enjoyed these three days, but I'm pretty exhausted now. It's been very intense the last two days," he said. Having finished ninth on the second day of racing - won by Guillaume Martin - he showed strong form, and his attacking prowess on the final day came unrewarded, but was a breath of fresh air for the World champion. He finished the race in 16th place on the GC, but has most importantly gotten some rhythm ahead of the Vuelta, possibly his last big efforts before traveling to the Netherlands.

"Now I have to recover, then I'll go to the Vuelta and the end of the season will follow," Alaphilippe concluded. He will be riding alongside Remco Evenepoel throughout the three weeks, and he will be using the Grand Tour also as buildup for the World championships where he'll be looking to revalidate his rainbow stripes.