Two months after his heavy fall in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Frenchman wants to pick up the pace in Cholet in the French Road Championship. Decisive test for the Tour de France.
The double French world champion Julian Alaphilippe will return to competition on Sunday during the French Championship (Cholet), two months after his fall in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, his Quick-Step team announced on Tuesday. He got up with a hemopneumothorax and multiple fractures (ribs and scapula). The presence of the puncheur at the start of the Tour de France, of which he has worn the yellow jersey for the last three editions, is still pending. The big start of the event, on July 1 in Copenhagen, will only take place five days after France.
The road race on Sunday in Cholet (Maine-et-Loire), promised to sprinters at the end of 240 km of urban circuit, will offer him his first bib on April 24. “The Tour de France option is always open, it is always on my mind”, had assured the double world champion three weeks ago. Suitable for light training from mid-May, the French puncher, who celebrated his 30th birthday in early June, had passed a reassuring final exam before flying off to an internship. “The good news was that my lung was fully recovered, which of course I was very happy about. The broken bones were still painful, which is completely normal as these injuries take longer to recover.”he explained.
His condition on Sunday, for his only race before his possible participation in the Tour de France, will be scrutinized. “Of course I can’t do the same job as all the guys here yet because I need time to train and get back into shape and I still have to be careful not to push my injuries too much.”explained Alaphilippe when he arrived for an internship in Spain a few weeks ago.
(The full list runners from the Quick Step formation who will be running this weekend).