Julian Alaphilippe very close to victory in the sixth stage of Giro d’Italia 2024. The transalpine of Soudal-QuickStep was a great protagonist in the day of the dirt roads, which ended at the finish line of Rapolano Terme with the success of Pelayo Sanchez (Movistar) right in front of the former world champion. After being able to make a good breakaway 85 kilometers from the finish, the 31-year-old was unable to break away from the Spaniard and the other surviving attacker at the end, Luke Plapp (Team Jayco AlUla), thus being beaten in the sprint and thus having to settle for second place, once again postponing the appointment with the victory that has been missing for almost a year now.
“I have mixed feelings – admitted Alaphilippe to our microphones after the arrival – I’m happy with the race I did, I enjoyed it, I felt good and gave my all. For this I have no regrets. Then, obviously, it hurts to come so close to victory. I can redo the ending twenty times, but [Sanchez] he was cooler and made the perfect sprint, even though I tried to save myself a bit, but we had to give everything. I did what I had to do. I was beaten by a stronger runner, that’s how it went“.
The former world champion therefore recognizes the merits of the Spaniard, with whom he also argued a bit during the race: “He played his cards as best he could for him. Knowing that there were three of us coming, you also had to be smart. He was strong, smart and made a good sprint. I’m a little disappointed that I missed the win today, I really wanted it, but it’s not the last chance between now and the end of the Giro“.
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