Remco Evenepoel reportedly pushing for Julian Alaphilippe to be part of Soudal - Quick-Step's Tour de France lineup
CyclingSaturday, 18 May 2024 at 14:30
Julian Alaphilippe has been one of the stars of the 2024 Giro d'Italia. Showing some of the best legs he's had in years, the Frenchman has finished on one stage and one another with a stunning long-distance attack. Could this return to form force a return to the Tour de France later this summer?
Well, according to French outlet L'Equipe, Soudal - Quick-Step's expected Maillot Jaune challenger, Remco Evenepoel, is pushing hard for Alaphilippe to get the nod and be alongside the time-trial world champion at the startline for the Grand Depart in Florence on the 29th of June. The duo are known to be good friends as well as teammates and an in-form Alaphilippe would undoubtedly be a great addition to the Soudal - Quick-Step team.
Whether or not Soudal - Quick-Step boss and most outspoken critic of Alaphilippe in recent years, Patrick Lefevere grants Evenepoel his wish remains to be seen though. Following Alaphilippe's Giro d'Italia stage win a few days ago, the controversial Belgian team boss admitted the French star was beginning to prove him wrong however.
"Julian is now proving me wrong. I like that. And I don't feel too good to admit it," Lefevere told HLN after Alaphilippe's stunning stage victory. "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."
A big question will be, with Alaphilippe targetting the Olympic Games, would the former two-time world champion be able to carry over his good form from the Giro d'Italia, through the three weeks of the Tour de France and then into the Paris Olympics Games, which starts just a week after the conclusion of the Tour? It's unlikely the 31-year-old would be at peak level.
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- That's a surprise
leedorney06-05-2025 - You were doing so well up until the last paragraph :-). So Almeida did not win a single stage race with UAE and now because of contract uplift he can win prestigious races? Come on. The man was being shaped to get to this level and took 2 years. After leaving QS he had lost his punch, he is not a sprinter of course but he had a good kick, he also lost a bit his TT performance, was a disaster going downhill. All this time he was improving his climbing and now he is recovering all the aforementioned qualities he had before. He is not putting on a show because of contract negotiations, he simply evolved also due to changing trainer. I think he will do a hat-trick in Tour de Suisse and then go with no pressure to the Tour. Depending on how well Jonas or Remco recover and how tired Roglic is from the Giro, a podium might fall on his lap. Then Vuelta maybe UAE can compensate his performance by making him the solo leader if Pogacar is doubting. However, where I am really interested to see Almeida is the World Championships. I am hoping the race is split early and then we see Almeida picking up corpses along the Rwanda streets up until he reaches an empty Pogacar and then tips him over the line. Then I wake up and life continues.Indioshak06-05-2025
- Jonas had also had a speed wobble on that same descent. They have both improved their descending skills since then, and in 2024 took scary risks on downhills.Hill3306-05-2025
- Should be a good one! It's been since 2022 since we have seen peak Pogi vs peak Vingo. 2023 Pogi had injuries and a suboptimal preparation. 2024 Vingo had even worse injuries and a poor runup to the Tour. UAE team has gotten stronger since 2022, while Visma maybe less strong.mobk06-05-2025
- You'd have to be an amoral prick to work for this team.Matt06-05-2025
- Jonas is a very solid descender. Remember him waiting for Pog when Pog crashed on a descent in 2022mobk05-05-2025
- For Pogi's first win against Jonas, he had a very subpar team relative to Jumbo. I don't think Jonas would have stood a chance if he had Pogi's team that year.Veganpotter05-05-2025
- He descended very well at the TdF last year after the first couple stages with technical descents.Veganpotter05-05-2025
- The funny thing about all of this is that Pogi can(that doesn't mean he definitely will) win the TdF while it's only one of many goals. Jonas is fully focused on the TdF. Yes, he does other races but they're solely in preparation for the TdF. Jonas is great, but much of the reason he has a fighters chance is that Pogi isn't a rider that's fully focused on stage races.Veganpotter05-05-2025
- Yates- when he is on - is pretty awesome to watch.
ScottG05-05-2025
Even with Alaphilippe in the team, Remco will never win a GT, in fully loaded field. His Vuelta win is a fluke. He won it in a field of nobodies, no real challengers there. But, Remco himself cannot admit this, publicly. Since he is practixally a young Patrick Lefevere in a nutshell
It will depend on how and when they want to use him at the TdF.
With a good talk and program set up with the two sides agreeing both should be possible.
On the other hand, will it be compatible businesswise and emotionally?
How to “menager” as the French would say his team with his olympic ambitions, duties and rights. Obviously an employer has his word to say but if the rider isn’t happy about what he has to do or isn’t allowed, it’s really easy to be “in bad shape” when you’re needed.