"The lack of news is annoying" - Julian Alaphilippe admits frustrations at being left in the dark over potential Visma-Soudal merger

The talk of a potential merger between two of the peloton's premier teams in Soudal - Quick-Step and Jumbo-Visma leaves a lot of uncertainty for the riders involved according to French star, Julian Alaphilippe.

"I don't know much about that," Alaphilippe admits in a pre-Coppa Bernocchi interview with Cycling Pro Net. “It's a bit complicated, but we're staying focused on what we have ahead of us. We hope that the situation will be cleared up quickly, because the lack of news is annoying. Soudal-Quick Step has been at the heart of cycling for years and has had a fantastic period."

On the actual race, Alaphilippe was optimistic. The big pre-race favourite is someone who could soon be Alaphilippe's teammate, Wout van Aert.

"The Giro dell' Emilia was already a nice race, but I lacked the good legs in the final to follow the best. I have recovered well and am ready for today," Alaphilippe says. "The intention is to make it a great race and end the season on a high note in Italy. I just love this week with nothing but great races and the weather is really great. We'll see what happens."