Criterium du Dauphine - Victory gives Julian Alaphilippe confidence for Tour de France
Jun 15 2019 04:49 am CET
Photo of Julian Alaphilippe © Mary Cárdenas / CyclingPub.com
Deceuninck-Quick-Step's Julian Alaphilippe has taken the victory of the sixth stage of the Criterium du Dauphine and climbed to the top of the King of the Mountain classification.
The Frenchman was part of the escape of the day and after launching several attacks on the last climb of the day, he arrived to the finish line with Gregor Mühlberger and beat him at the final sprint. The rider not only took the victory in front of his home fans but also got the polka-dot jersey.
"I'm always hungry and every victory is important, but to take a stage at the Dauphiné – my first race of the season in France – is really special and makes me extremely happy," Alaphilippe explained.
"The stage was long and hard, but we worked well together and opened that huge gap. In the sprint, I knew that Gregor was explosive and that with the headwind it was important not to go too early. It's a beautiful win, good for my confidence before the Tour de France, and the fact that it brought me also the blue jersey makes it a really perfect day."
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