TOUR OF ITALY | 03/05/2024 | 4.21pm
by Francesca Monzone
At 31, Julian Alaphilippe has finally decided to race the Giro d’Italia and tomorrow in Venaria Reale he will make his debut in the pink race. The Frenchman is not racing for the general classification and it will be important for him to do well tomorrow, because the stage arriving in Turin is perfect for a rider with his characteristics and his desire is to immediately wear the pink leader’s jersey. «The first stage suits me a lot, we did a reconnaissance yesterday in the car and I really like it. It will be a very hard, short, nervous stage, I like this type of journey.”
The Frenchman, two-time world champion, he focused a lot on the first fraction and hopes to win to immediately wear the pink jersey of race leader. «I am very motivated, also because I think that it will be my only opportunity to wear the pink jersey. Sunday’s stage will be too hard for me, so tomorrow I will try to win straight away. It would be nice to be able to wear the pink jersey in my first participation in the Giro.”
This 2024 could be the last year for the transalpine with the Soudal-Quick Step and for this reason he wants to leave his mark by achieving important goals. His contract is expiring and it is not known whether Lefevere really intends to extend his stay in the Wolfpack.
«My form is good, I raced at Romandia and it was a tough week. I put the kilometers I needed into my legs, I don’t think I could have done a better preparation. I ran a lot until Flanders, then I had a small break before Romandie. I think I’m fresh enough to do well in the next few weeks.”
The Frenchman is 31 years old and has an important list of victories, with 41 victories including two world titles, a Milan-Sanremo and stages at the Tour de France, where he also wore the yellow leader’s jersey, but in the last two years the successes have significantly decreased and in the season that has just begun, he never went beyond a few placings.
«Compared to previous years I have not changed my approach to my training and I have continued as I always have. At Romandia I needed to go well, but without going too fast. Tomorrow I have the opportunity to take the pink jersey, it would truly be a dream for me. To win tomorrow you have to be strong and explosive and it would be fantastic to win on my first day of racing in the Giro.”
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