“I have nothing broken. I will be present at the Flèche wallonne. Joined this Thursday morning, Julian Alaphilippe gave reassuring news the day after his fall during the Brabant Arrow. The 29-year-old rider will therefore take part next Wednesday in the Flèche wallonne, of which he is the title holder and which he has already won three times. More fear than harm therefore after his spectacular fall on Wednesday.
About twenty kilometers from the finish, in fact, the reigning double world champion found himself on the ground. The French touched the wheel of his compatriot Brian Coquard, himself pushed by the passage on the left side of the road of a car from the Quick-Step team, of which Alaphilippe is a member. Another runner was involved in the fall. The Belgian team’s car apparently struggled to control its speed, and found itself level with the peloton.
After holding his elbow and shoulders for long minutes on the ground, raising fears of a serious injury, the Frenchman finally got up. He even got back on his bike but he preferred to give up, not wanting to leave useless forces by the wayside before important deadlines for him. Julian Alaphilippe has made the Ardennes classics the main objectives of his first part of the season. He dreams in particular of hanging on his prize list the “Doyenne”, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, on Sunday 24 April. Last year, he finished second behind Tadej Pogacar, as in 2015 when he lost to Alejandro Valverde.