Julian Alaphilippe races 'way too crazy,' according to Patrick Lefevere

Deceuninck - Quick-Step boss Patrick Lefevere has said that Julian Alaphilippe races "way too crazy" but understands that's the key to his success.

Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) has been on the attack on almost every other stage at this year's Tour de France without much success since his stage win on the opening day.

In a piece by Het Nieuwsblad (opens in new tab), Patrick Lefevere said: "It's true that Julian has had all of his great successes.

"He is used to racing impulsively. As world champion in his own country, he also wants to show his jersey, of course. But at the same time, that jersey also weighs on him. From the moment Julian bounces, there are a lot of people on his wheel."

>>> Tour de France stage 15 LIVE - Céret to Andorra la Vella

Alaphilippe hasn't quite had the success of previous years while being world champion, but he really impressed on stage one in Brittany.

"What he did there was a really big number," continued Lefevere. "Julian wins in Landerneau and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) the next day on the Mûr de Bretagne, while everyone expected it to be the other way around. Cycling is not always predictable."

Lefevere says that Alaphilippe is racing "way too crazy, but that's how he has achieved all his great successes."

It is likely that the world champion won't be back to his general classification days in the Tour after he took fifth overall in 2019, according to Lefevere: "He doesn't have the 'long distance' he had two years ago when he finished fifth in the standings,

"Julian may be a little impulsive, but everything he does is with the best of intentions. We don't blame him. I've never been able to be mad at Julian."

The Tour de France heads into the Pyrenees on stage 15 with the highest point of the Tour in Andorra, the one and only time that the race leaves France in 2021. 

Alaphilippe was on the move early on stage 15 (July 11) as he looked for a second stage win in the rainbow bands.