Julian Alaphilippe expected to miss the Tour de France

According to reports from Het Nieuwsblad this morning, team management at Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl have made the decision to leave Julian Alaphilippe out of their Tour de France selection. 

Alaphilippe finished 13th in the French National championship road race on Sunday. The two-time world champion hadn’t raced since April after suffering a horrendous crash at this year’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège in which he suffered extensive injuries. 

“I can't say that I had a lot of fun on the bike, but it went better than expected. So I'm happy," said Alaphilippe post-race. 

Prior to racing on Sunday, the Frenchman had admitted to L’Equipe that he had felt nervous about his return to action. “

“It’s not that I’m scared, but I think on some descents, some things may have changed a bit,” he said. 

“These may be things that will seem weird at first. That’s also why I’m here at nationals, to become automatic again [in racing], not just to see where I am physically,” Alaphilippe added. 

The hotly anticipated Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl lineup is expected to be announced later today. With Alaphilippe returning to racing and Mark Cavendish taking his second British National Road victory over the weekend, all eyes will be on the announcement. 

Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen is expected to be named in the selection for the Belgian team along with Danish rider and 2021 Tour of Flanders winner, Kasper Asgreen.