PRESS Conference Julian Alaphilippe | "I don't need to mention Pogacar" - Former World Champion on main rivals for hilly stages

Julian Alaphilippe is a rider that in the past has experienced a lot of success and victories at the Tour de France. In 2025 this is more difficult, but the leader of Tudor Pro Cycling Team has shared with CyclingUpToDate and other media in Lens what his feelings are ahead of his return to the French Grand Tour.

Amongst others, the former World Champion was asked about the recent Tour de Suisse in which he finished an impressive Top5; his preparation for the race, France's Tour drought and and who he believes will be his main rivals for the explosive finales of the first week.

Answer: I'm super happy to be back at the Tour and to be here specially with my new team Tudor for the first time, it will be for sure a special experience for us. Super excited, motivated and looking forward to start the race.

A: Of course, we always have ambition. I think we have a strong and homogene team to hunt for a few stages. The goal and the dream is to perform and to win a stage in the Tour, it's always something special and I think it will be the goal during the next three weeks - to chase stage victories.

A: I think I still am more of a puncheur than a climber or sprinter, there are a few stages in the first week that suit me quite well, but of course you need good legs. I did everything in my preparation to feel good, specially in the first week, so let's see.

A: To have a strong acceleration, out and painful moments... But there are so many puncheurs in the peloton... I think I always had these qualities and I'm always working on it. I also worked in some mountains in the training camp at altitude, my preparation is really mostly the same as last years before the Tour.

A: Like I said so many guys are strong in a punchy parcours, but also GC riders - I don't need to mention Pogacar. A guy like also Mathieu van der Poel is fast in the sprint, super strong in the punch, there are many many guys who can be strong so I hope to be part of these guys.

A: Of course it's a long time, for sure, but I don't feel concerned about being the next French man to win the Tour (laughs, ed.).

A: I think every French rider knows that gap between Bernard Hinault and today, when I say I don't feel concerned, it's also the next French winner of the Tour he's not even thinking about this. We're just trying to do our best, we have some strong French riders who can win in the future but it's not something I think about, I'm just focused on what I want to do and what we have to do. I hope that the gap will be closed at one moment. It's true that 40 years is a lot.

A: I didn't check it, but I felt good in Suisse. It was an important week before coming here, I took confidence from being there. I enjoyed racing in Switzerland which was the home race for Tudor. It was, like I said, the last big week of preparation before the Tour. The most important is the feeling and I enjoyed it, I had good feeling, good things coming to the Tour.

A: My goal is to do a good Tour. The first week is important because it has a few good opportunities for us, a rider like Marc [Hirschi], me or Alberto [Dainese]. But yeah, the Tour is long, we also know that second and last week are super hard. If it's going well for us in the first week it's good, if not we know that it's a long way until Paris so we have to be strong and patient.