Julian Alaphilippe (; born 11 June 1992) is a French professional road cyclist, former cyclo-cross racer and two-time UCI World Road Champion, who currently rides for

UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

. He is the brother of racing cyclist Bryan Alaphilippe.

Career

Early career

Born in Saint-Amand-Montrond, Alaphilippe started his career competing in the

cyclo-cross Cyclo-cross (cyclocross, CX, cyclo-X or cross) is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter (the international or "World Cup" season is October–February), and consist of many laps of a short (2.5–3.5&nb ...

discipline and finished second in the Junior World Cyclo-Cross Championships in 2010. Alaphilippe's road career began in 2012, riding with amateur team . During that season, he impressed at the

Tour de Bretagne Tour de Bretagne Cycliste, also known as the Tour de Bretagne trophée des granitiers and formerly known as Ruban Granitier Breton, is an annual early season professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race held in late April and early May i ...

, finishing eleventh overall, and finished second overall and won a stage in the Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay, a

UCI America Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

2.2 event. Alaphilippe joined , the development team of

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road bicycle racing, road cycling, the UCI World Tou ...

. The young rider had an even more successful season in 2013, taking a solo victory on stage 4 of the Tour de Bretagne. Later in the year, he came 4th in the European Road Race Championships and 9th in the UCI Road World Under-23 Championships. He also won the final stage and the points classification of the

Tour de l'Avenir Tour de l'Avenir () is a French road bicycle racing stage race, which started in 1961 as a race similar to the Tour de France and over much of the same course but for amateurs and for semi-professionals known as independents. Felice Gimondi, Joo ...

, the Grand Prix Südkärnten, and a stage at the Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23.

Omega Pharma–Quick-Step (2014–2024)

2014

Alaphilippe joined in 2014. He made his professional debut in January, at the

Tour Down Under The Tour Down Under (currently branded as the Santos Tour Down Under for sponsorship reasons) is a cycling race in and around Adelaide, South Australia. It is traditionally the opening event of the UCI World Tour and UCI Women’s WorldTour ...

, and obtained his first podium in the professional ranks on the opening stage of the

Volta a Catalunya The Volta a Catalunya (; Tour of Catalonia, ) is a road bicycle race held annually in Catalonia, Spain. It is one of three World Tour stage races in Spain, together with the Vuelta a España and the Tour of the Basque Country. The race has had ...

. He was also second in Stage 5. Alaphilippe scored his first victory as a neo-pro in Stage 4 of the

Tour de l'Ain Tour de l'Ain, also known as the Prix de l'Amitié, is an annual professional cycling stage race held in eastern France. G.P. de l'Amitié The first edition of the race was in 1970, as the G.P. de l'Amitié (Friendship G.P.). It was held over f ...

, where he showed his explosiveness in an uphill finish ahead of Dan Martin, just days after another top 3 finish, at the RideLondon–Surrey Classic. His best World Tour result of the year in a one-day race was a fifth-place finish from a seven-man group in the GP Ouest–France.

2015

2015 was a breakthrough year for Alaphilippe. After two top-10 finishes at the

, he rode in a supporting role at the Ardennes classics to help his teammate, the reigning world champion Michał Kwiatkowski, and finished 7th in the Amstel Gold Race behind winner Kwiatkowski. In

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. It is part of the UCI World Tour. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is ...

, his first time participating in the race, he continued to support Kwiatkowski but found his teammate too far behind at a crucial juncture. His team director told him to go for the win and he finished second on the Mur de Huy behind three-time winner

Alejandro Valverde Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (born 25 April 1980) is a Spanish cyclist, who competed as a professional in road bicycle racing from 2002 to 2010 and from 2012 to 2022, and now competes in gravel cycling for the Movistar Team Gravel Squad. During ...

. The scenario repeated itself at

Liège–Bastogne–Liège Liège–Bastogne–Liège , also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...

a few days later, when Alaphilippe finished second in his ''La Doyenne'' debut, again behind Valverde. In doing so, Alaphilippe recorded the best French performance at the race since

Laurent Jalabert Laurent Jalabert (born 30 November 1968) is a French former professional road racing cyclist, from 1989 to 2002. Affectionately known as ''"Jaja"'' (slang for a glass of wine; when he continued drinking wine as a professional, the nickname stuck ...

's runner-up finish in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. After those performances and a string of podium finishes in the

Tour de Romandie The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...

, Alaphilippe signed a two-year contract extension in May, until the end of the 2017 season. Later in the month he won the queen stage of the Tour of California, atop Mount Baldy, and took over the lead in the general classification, two seconds ahead of

Peter Sagan Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak former professional cyclist who competed in road bicycle racing and mountain bicycle racing. Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-c ...

. However, he lost the overall eventually to Sagan by just three seconds in the last stage due to the time bonuses in a bunch sprint. In the later part of the summer, he finished eighth at the

Clásica de San Sebastián The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa — Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián (San Sebastián Classic) is a one-day professional men's bicycle road race in northern Spain that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián. It is the m ...

, finishing in the lead group behind the winner, Adam Yates. He subsequently finished tenth overall in the Eneco Tour, which included a stage that used many of the Ardennes classics roads. He failed to finish in the road race at the World Championships, and was later diagnosed with

infectious mononucleosis Infectious mononucleosis (IM, mono), also known as glandular fever, is an infection usually caused by the Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). Most people are infected by the virus as children, when the disease produces few or no symptoms. In young adu ...

– leading to extreme fatigue, and marking the end of his season.

2016

Alaphilippe started his season at February's Tour La Provence, and recorded his first top-ten finish of the season at April's Brabantse Pijl, before finishing sixth at the Amstel Gold Race. Later in April, Alaphilippe again placed second at

, as he did in 2015. He then earned his biggest victory at the time, at the Tour of California, when he won a stage atop Gibraltar Road and the overall. The lead was taken on stage 3 when he attacked on a hors-catégorie climb with less than left. His form continued at the

Critérium du Dauphiné The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycle sport, cycling road bicycle racing, road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during ...

where he finished sixth overall and first in the young rider classification – his first white jersey at a

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an annual ranking system based upon perfor ...

race. In late June, he was named in the start list for the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

. During the Tour de France, he held the young rider classification from stages 2 to 6, after taking second in

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (, ; Norman: ''Tchidbouo'') is a port city in the department of Manche, Normandy, northwestern France, established on 1 January 2016.combativity award on stage 16. Alaphilippe was then selected to represent his nation at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, competing in the road race and the road time trial. During the road race, he caught up with the leading group of cyclists on the final climb of Vista Chinesa, but his crash on the descent hindered him from joining the final attack launched by Greg Van Avermaet and

Jakob Fuglsang Jakob Diemer Fuglsang (born 22 March 1985) is a Danish professional road racing cyclist, who rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . Before turning professional for , he was a mountain biker racing for Team Cannondale–Vredestein, winning the Und ...

to catch the sole leader

Rafał Majka Rafał Majka (Polish pronunciation: ; born 12 September 1989) is a Polish professional Road bicycle racing, road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . He is known as a strong climber, and rose to prominence at the 2013 Giro d'Italia, wher ...

before the finish line. Alaphilippe eventually finished the road race in fourth position, 22 seconds behind the winner Van Avermaet. Alaphilippe finished in 32nd position in the road time trial. In September, he came close to winning the road race at the European Road Championships, finishing second in Plumelec.

2017

Alaphilippe started his 2017 spring preparation at the

Abu Dhabi Tour The Abu Dhabi Tour was a men's Road bicycle racing#Stage races, cycling stage race that took place in the United Arab Emirates, held annually between 2015 Abu Dhabi Tour, 2015 and 2018 Abu Dhabi Tour, 2018. In 2019, the Abu Dhabi Tour merged with ...

, where he finished fifth overall and won the best young rider classification. In March, he rode

Paris–Nice Paris–Nice is a professional road bicycle racing, cycling stage race in France, held annually since 1933. Raced over eight days, the race usually starts with a prologue in the Paris region and ends with a final stage either in Nice or on the ...

and won his first career individual time trial, with an uphill finish on stage 4. He kept his race lead over the next three days, before finishing fifth overall, and won the young rider and points classifications. The following weekend, Alaphilippe finished third on his debut at

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

, being narrowly beaten in a sprint by Michał Kwiatkowski and world champion

after the trio broke clear on the final climb, the Poggio di San Remo. Alaphilippe's season was then hampered by a lengthy injury sustained at the Tour of the Basque Country. It was announced in April by his team that Alaphilippe would miss the Ardennes classics due to a pre-patellar lesion knee injury. He also missed out his primary goal of the year, the

, after undergoing knee surgery in May. Alaphilippe returned to racing at

Grand Prix Pino Cerami Grand Prix Pino Cerami is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in April in Hainaut, Belgium. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before being cancelled from 2019 to 2022. Upon its return in 2 ...

in July, and made his debut at the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

a month later. He scored his maiden Grand Tour stage win in Stage 8 during which he outclimbed

and Jan Polanc from a breakaway, on the roads to Xorret de Catí. Also in August, Alaphilippe signed a two-year contract extension with his team , keeping him through the 2019 season. At the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

held in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

, he broke clear on the last climb of the race and led until under the flamme rouge, before being overhauled by the peloton and finishing tenth. One month later, Alaphilippe concluded his season at the

Tour of Guangxi The Tour of Guangxi (officially known as the GREE-Tour of Guangxi for sponsorship purposes) is an annual professional Road bicycle racing, cycling race held in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. The m ...

by taking fourth overall and the young rider classification.

2018

Alaphilippe started his season at the inaugural Colombia Oro y Paz and won the uphill finish to Alto Boquerón, before finishing seventh overall and as the only non-South American rider in the top 10. He then returned at the

and went one place better than in the previous year, taking fourth place overall after a podium finish on the final stage of the race. After a pair of top 3 finishes at

, he took his first victory of the season in

Zarautz Zarautz (, ) is a coastal town located in central Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, in Spain. It is bordered by Aia to the east and the south and Getaria, Gipuzkoa, Getaria to the west, located about west of San Sebastián, Donostia/San Sebastián. It ha ...

in the opening stage of the Tour of the Basque Country; he also won the following stage into

Bermeo Bermeo is a town and municipality in the ''comarca'' of Busturialdea. It is in the province of Biscay, which is part of the autonomous region of the Basque Country in northern Spain. With a population of 16,765, it is the most important fishing ...

. Seventh at the Amstel Gold Race, he finally scored his first one-day race victory just a couple of days later. During the third and final ascent of the Mur de Huy at

, Alaphilippe accelerated near the summit, overtaking Jelle Vanendert in the last of the race and dropping him.

, who had won the last four

editions, staged a late fight-back and almost caught Alaphilippe, but Alaphilippe was able to kick again in the final metres to increase his lead over Valverde and eventually win the race. It was the biggest victory of Alaphilippe's career at that point, and he was the first French winner of La Flèche Wallonne since

won in

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

. Alaphilippe participated in his second

after a successful

, where he won the stage to Lans-en-Vercors, and claimed his maiden Tour de France stage win in stage 10 with a series of attacks and aggressive descending in the Alps. He took the maximum mountains classification points on the Montée du plateau des Glières, the Col de Romme and the Col de la Colombière, finishing the stage to Le Grand-Bornand more than one minute ahead of the second-placed rider Ion Izagirre of , and over three minutes ahead of the peloton that included the defending champion Chris Froome. Alaphilippe also took the lead in the mountains classification at the end of Stage 10. Alaphilippe won the 16th stage of the race after Adam Yates crashed while leading, on the descent before the finishing line. He maintained his mountains classification lead throughout the second half of the race, finishing 79 points ahead of his closest rival. The following month, Alaphilippe won the

, out-sprinting

Bauke Mollema Bauke Mollema (; born 26 November 1986) is a Dutch professional cycle sport, cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has finished in the top 10 in all three Grand Tours, with stage wins in the 2021 Tour de France, 2017 Tour de France, and the 2 ...

for the win, after the two riders escaped the field on the final climb, the Murgil Tontorra. He then won the third stage and the general classification of the

Tour of Britain The Tour of Britain is a multi-stage cycling race, conducted on British roads, in which participants race across Great Britain to complete the race in the fastest time. The event dates back to the first British stage races held just after th ...

, after taking the overall lead on the sixth stage of the week long competition. Alaphilippe continued to have success in stage races, as he became the first Frenchman to win the Okolo Slovenska less than a week later. Despite his large amount of successes in 2018, Alaphilippe faced disappointment at the

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, where he was appointed France's team leader. On the final climb, he cracked and lost contact with the race leaders, and ended up finishing 8th.

2019

Alaphilippe started the 2019 season in January with the

Vuelta a San Juan The Vuelta a San Juan is an annual road cycling stage race held in Argentine. Typically consisting of seven stages, beginning and ending in San Juan, the race was first held in 1982. In 2017, the race was classified as a 2.1 event by the Unio ...

and the Tour Colombia. At the Vuelta a San Juan, he finished second overall and won two stages, one of which was an individual time trial. He then won the points classification and one stage at the Tour Colombia, from a small group. His first major race was

Strade Bianche The Strade Bianche (; ) is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name stems from the historic white gravel roads in ...

, which he won on debut, beating out rider

in a kick up the final climb of Via Santa Caterina. He finished 6th overall in

Tirreno–Adriatico Tirreno–Adriatico, nicknamed the "Race of the Two Seas", is an elite road bicycle racing, road cycling stage race in Italy, run between the Tyrrhenian Sea, Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Sea, Adriatic coasts. Traditionally held in the early part of th ...

, taking stage 2 to Pomarance and then earning a surprise victory on stage 6 despite leading out his team's designated sprinter

Elia Viviani Elia Viviani (born 7 February 1989) is an Italian professional Cycle sport, cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProSeries, UCI ProTeam . On 10 May 2015, Viviani won his first Grand Tour stage victory at the 2015 Giro d'Italia, Giro d'Italia, win ...

. He then won his first

Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

, at

after attacking on the Poggio di San Remo and outsprinting Oliver Naesen and Michał Kwiatkowski on the Via Roma. As a result, Alaphilippe became the top-ranked rider on the UCI road racing world ranking. This was followed up by a stage victory in the Tour of the Basque Country, a second place at Brabantse Pijl, a near-miss of a podium place at the Amstel Gold Race, and then three days later, by a successful defence of his

title that he had won in 2018, which made him one of the few riders in history to claim back-to-back victories at the Belgian World Tour race. After a break, he resumed competition at the

, winning stage 6 from the breakaway, and he won the mountains classification. Alaphilippe won the third stage of the

on 8 July, simultaneously earning himself the yellow jersey, after a powerful solo attack inside the last . After losing the jersey by six seconds on stage six to Giulio Ciccone, he regained it following stage eight, where he finished third. He then won stage 13, the individual time trial in Pau, by beating Geraint Thomas by 14 seconds on the day that celebrated 100 years since the yellow jersey was created. He kept the overall lead until stage 19 after being dropped on the

Col de l'Iseran Col de l'Iseran (el. ) is a mountain pass in France, the highest paved pass in the Alps. A part of the Graian Alps, it is in the department of Savoie, near the border with Italy, and is crossed by the D902 roadway. The pass is part of the Rout ...

. He ultimately finished the race fifth overall; with his two stage wins, and fourteen days in yellow, he was designated as the most combative rider of the race. Seventh at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec in September, he finished his season with a 28th place at the

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

2020

For the third consecutive year, Alaphilippe began his season in South America, racing the

, which he was forced to abandon through illness after just two days, and the Tour Colombia, where he scored his first podium of the year, in Santa Rosa de Viterbo. Following the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

-enforced suspension of racing, Alaphilippe recommenced his season at August's

, finishing in 24th place overall and taking second place in the mountains classification, behind David de la Cruz. At the postponed

, Alaphilippe won stage 2 in

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionMéribel, Alaphilippe received the combativity award. He finished the Tour in 36th place overall. At the

Imola Imola (; or ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, located on the river Santerno, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. The city is traditionally considered the western entrance to the historical region Romagna ...

, Italy, Alaphilippe attacked on the final climb with just over to go, to take the victory in the road race, a first for a French elite male since 1997. Alaphilippe's first race wearing the

rainbow jersey The rainbow jersey is the distinctive cycling jersey, jersey worn by the reigning World Cycling Championship, world champion in a cycling discipline, since 1927. The jersey is predominantly white with five horizontal bands in the Union Cycli ...

was

, rescheduled to 4 October. He contested the five-man sprint and, believing he had won, celebrated as he crossed the line. However, a photo finish revealed that Primož Roglič had crossed the line in first place. Alaphilippe was later relegated to 5th place for impeding Marc Hirschi during the sprint. On 7 October, Alaphilippe took his first win as World Champion at Brabantse Pijl, ahead of

Mathieu van der Poel Mathieu van der Poel (born 19 January 1995) is a Belgian-born Dutch professional Cycle sport, cyclist who rides for the UCI WorldTeam . He competes in the cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, mountain biking, Gravel cycling, gravel and road bicyc ...

and Benoît Cosnefroy, with whom he had attacked inside the final . Alaphilippe's last race of the season was the

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders () may refer to the following cycle races: * Tour of Flanders (men's race) The Tour of Flanders (), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race held in Belgium every spri ...

. He was in the leading group of three riders which had made the decisive winning move, when he crashed into a race motorbike with to go and abandoned the race after receiving roadside medical attention. His team later reported that he had broken two bones in his right hand.

2021

Alaphilippe started his season by finishing second overall at the Tour de la Provence, before making his debut in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. In March, he returned at the start of

, where he finished second. He remained in Italy for

, taking a stage win on the second stage, coming on the uphill finish of Chiusdino. Four days after concluding the race, he made an attack on the Poggio, forcing a selection in the closing kilometres of

, but eventually finished 16th. After racing Dwars door Vlaanderen for the first time in his career and returning at the

, where he attacked from distance several times and played a part in the victory of his teammate Kasper Asgreen, he announced the extension of his contract with until the end of 2024. Alaphilippe was then in the mix in Amstel Gold Race, finishing sixth for his fifth consecutive top 10 at the race. Three days later, he won

for the third time, as he closed down an attack by Primož Roglič before the finish; he became the first incumbent world champion since Cadel Evans in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

to win the race. He concluded his first part of the season with a second place in

. Alaphilippe was part of a five-man group who went clear on the final ascent of the day and managed to hold off the chasers, but was pipped on the line by

Tadej Pogačar Tadej Pogačar (; born 21 September 1998) is a Slovenia, Slovenian professional road bicycle racing, cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . His victories include three Tour de France, Tours de France (2020 Tour de France, 2020, 2021 Tou ...

in the sprint for his second second-place finish at the race. He won the first stage of the

, attacking on the final climb of the stage, the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups. He lost the yellow jersey the following day, but assumed the green jersey of points classification leader for two further stages. He became the sixth rider to have worn the yellow, green, polka dot and white jerseys at the Tour de France during their career. 2021 WK Vlaanderen men elite podium

Alaphilippe returned to the

as an outside favourite to defend his title in the road race. The race was animated from the start, with Alaphilippe's French team on the attack early on. The French drew out the favoured host country Belgium, by beginning their assault from the finish, as Belgium were attempting to control the proceedings for their team leader and favourite

Wout van Aert Wout van Aert (born 15 September 1994) is a Belgian professional road bicycle racing, road and cyclo-cross Cycle sport, racer who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Van Aert won three consecutive men's races at the UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in ...

. Alaphilippe made his first move with to go, attacking on the Flandrien circuit, and bridging with the favourites up to the remaining breakaway riders. He attacked thrice more on the Leuven city circuit, further fracturing the dwindling group of favourites that included van Aert,

and Sonny Colbrelli. Finally with remaining, Alaphilippe made his fifth attack, on the Sint Antoniusberg climb, resulting in him moving clear of the leaders on the cobbled climb and soloed to victory. He became the first French male rider to win multiple world road race titles, and the first rider to win in successive years since

won in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Personal life

His father was musician Jo Alaphilippe, who died in June 2020 after a long illness (he attended the 2019 Tour de France in a wheelchair). His younger brother Bryan Alaphilippe also competed professionally as a cyclist, before retiring in March 2021. His cousin is trainer Franck Alaphilippe. In April 2020 Julian announced in an interview with ''

L'Équipe ''L'Équipe'' (, French for "the team") is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sport, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of association football, rugby, motorsport, and cycling. Its predecessor, '' ...

'' that he was in a relationship with broadcaster and former racing cyclist

Marion Rousse Marion Rousse (born 17 August 1991) is a French former bicycle racing, racing cyclist. She won the French National Road Race Championships, French national road race title in 2012. She announced her retirement from racing in October 2015. Rousse ...

. In January 2021 Alaphilippe announced via social media that the couple were expecting a child. Their son Nino was born 14 June 2021.

Career achievements

Major results

Road

;2012 : 2nd Overall Coupe des nations Ville Saguenay ::1st Young rider classification ::1st Stage 2 ;2013 : 1st Grand Prix Südkärnten :

::1st Points classification ::1st Stage 7 : 1st Stage 3 Thüringen Rundfahrt der U23 : 4th Road race, UEC European Under-23 Championships : 5th Overall

::1st Stage 4 : 8th Overall Course de la Paix U23 : 9th Road race, UCI World Under-23 Championships : 10th Grand Prix Královéhradeckého kraje ;2014 (1 pro win) : 3rd RideLondon–Surrey Classic : 4th Overall

::1st Points classification ::1st Young rider classification ::1st Stage 4 : 5th GP Ouest–France ;2015 (1) : 2nd Overall Tour of California ::1st Young rider classification ::1st Stage 7 : 2nd

: 2nd

: 5th Road race, National Championships : 7th Amstel Gold Race : 8th

: 10th Overall Eneco Tour ;2016 (2) : 1st Overall Tour of California ::1st Stage 3 : 2nd Silver medal europe

Road race, UEC European Championships : 2nd

: 4th Road race,

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

: 5th Road race, National Championships : 6th Overall

::1st Young rider classification : 6th Amstel Gold Race : 8th Brabantse Pijl : 10th Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal :

::Held after Stages 2–6 :: Combativity award Stage 16 ;2017 (2) : 1st Stage 8

: 2nd

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

: 3rd

: 4th Overall

::1st Young rider classification : 5th Overall

::1st Points classification ::1st Young rider classification ::1st Stage 4 ( ITT) : 5th Overall

::1st Young rider classification : 10th Road race, UCI World Championships ;2018 (12) : 1st Overall

::1st Stage 3 : 1st Overall Okolo Slovenska ::1st Stage 1 : 1st

: 1st

::1st Mountains classification ::1st Stages 10 & 16 : Tour of the Basque Country ::1st Stages 1 & 2 : 1st Stage 4

: 3rd Road race, National Championships : 4th Overall

: 4th

: 7th Overall Colombia Oro y Paz ::1st Stage 4 : 7th Amstel Gold Race : 8th

: 8th Road race, UCI World Championships ;2019 (12) : 1st

: 1st

::1st Mountains classification ::1st Stage 6 : 1st Stage 2 Tour of the Basque Country : 2nd Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 3 ( ITT) : 2nd Brabantse Pijl : 4th Amstel Gold Race : 5th Overall

::1st Stages 3 & 13 ( ITT) ::Held after Stages 3–5 & 8–18 :: Combativity award Overall : 6th Overall

::1st Stages 2 & 6 : 7th Overall Tour Colombia ::1st Points classification ::1st Stage 5 : 7th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec ;2020 (3) : 1st Road race, UCI World Championships : 1st Brabantse Pijl :

::1st Stage 2 ::Held after Stages 2–4 :: Combativity award Stage 17 : 2nd

: 3rd Road race, National Championships : 5th

;2021 (4) : 1st Road race, UCI World Championships : 1st

::1st Stage 1 ::Held after Stage 1 ::Held after Stages 1–3 : 1st Stage 2

: 2nd Overall Tour de la Provence : 2nd

: 2nd

Bretagne Classic The Bretagne Classic, also called Bretagne Classic Ouest-France, is an elite classic cycle races, cycling classic held annually in late summer around the Brittany, Breton village of Plouay in western France. The race was originally named Grand-P ...

: 3rd Overall

: 6th

: 6th Amstel Gold Race : 6th

;2022 (2) : 1st Stage 2 Tour of the Basque Country : 1st Stage 1

Tour de Wallonie The Tour de Wallonie is a stage race cycling race on the UCI Europe Tour. It runs in Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium in the end of July. Between 1974 and 1995 it was reserved to amateurs. Since 2005, the race has been organized as a ...

: 2nd Overall Tour de la Provence ::1st Points classification : 4th

: 5th La Drôme Classic ;2023 (2) : 1st Ardèche Classic : 8th

Coppa Bernocchi The Coppa Bernocchi is a European Road bicycle racing, bicycle race held in Legnano, Italy. From 2005 to 2019, the race was organised as a UCI race classifications, 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before joining the UCI ProSeries in 2020. In 1 ...

: 9th Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec : 9th Trofeo Calvia : 10th Overall

::1st Stage 2 ;2024 (3) :

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

::1st Stage 12 :: Combativity award Stages 6, 12, 16 & 19 and Overall : 1st Stage 4 Czech Tour : 2nd Overall Okolo Slovenska ::1st Points classification ::1st Stage 3 : 2nd

: 3rd Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal : 6th Overall

: 9th

;2025 : 8th Figueira Champions Classic

=General classification results timeline

=Classics results timeline

=Major championships timeline

Cyclo-cross

;2009–2010 : UCI Junior World Cup ::1st

Heusden-Zolder Heusden-Zolder (; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian Limburg (Belgium), province of Limburg near Hasselt. On 1 January 2006 Heusden-Zolder had a total population of 30,769. The total area is 53.23 ...

::3rd Hoogerheide : 2nd Silver medal uci

UCI World Junior Championships : 3rd National Junior Championships ;2011–2012 : 1st National Under-23 Championships : 3rd Overall UCI Under-23 World Cup ::2nd Liévin ::2nd Hoogerheide : Under-23 Coupe de France ::1st Rodez ;2012–2013 : 1st National Under-23 Championships : UCI Under-23 World Cup ::1st

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

::3rd Hoogerheide : Under-23 Coupe de France ::1st Besançon ::2nd Saverne : 3rd Bronze medal europe

UEC European Under-23 Championships

Awards

* Vélo d'Or: 2019 * Vélo d'Or français: 2019, 2020, 2021 * International Flandrien of the Year: 2019

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alaphilippe, Julian 1992 births Living people French male cyclists UCI Road World Champions (elite men) French Tour de France stage winners French Vuelta a España stage winners French Giro d'Italia stage winners Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for France French cyclo-cross cyclists Sportspeople from Cher (department) European Games competitors for France Cyclists at the 2015 European Games Cyclists from Centre-Val de Loire 21st-century French sportsmen Cyclists at the 2024 Summer Olympics