Tour de France - Julian Alaphilippe: I know there are many hurdles left along the way
Jul 21 2019 04:56 am CET
Photo of Julian Alaphilippe © Sigrid Eggers | Deceuninck - Quick-Step Cycling Team
Deceuninck-Quick-Step's Julian Alaphilippe surprised again at the 14th stage of the Tour de France by holding the pace of the favourites' group and arriving to the finish line on the Tourmalet ahead of many of them.
The Frenchman extended his stay on top of the General Classification by crossing the finish line in the second position, just six seconds behind the stage winner Thibaut Pinot. Alaphilippe remained with the rest of the favourites and as names like Adam Yates, Nairo Quintana, Richie Porte, Rigoberto Uran and Alejandro Valverde dropped, he remained in the very selected front group.
"It wasn’t easy today and you could see that everybody was suffering," he said after the finish line. "I just tried to go with the best for as long as possible and seeing how I fared makes me very happy. It’s an incredible feeling to retain the Maillot Jaune at the end of such a tough stage, but the GC isn’t on my mind because I know there are many hurdles left along the way. Like I said also the other day, I just take it day by day and enjoy the moment.
"When I saw some big names losing contact before me, I got thrilled. I’m happy to profit from this exceptional moment I’m having. The hard work pays off. After today’s big damages, there’ll be more changes in the overall ranking. One more day in yellow, I couldn’t ask for anything better. The closer we’ll get to Paris, the more I’ll ask myself if I stay in the lead but firstly I need to recover from today’s hard stage."
Tour de France - Julian Alaphilippe: I know there are many hurdles left along the way https://t.co/TAZ14Ylfjn |@deceuninck_qst @alafpolak1#TDF2019
— CyclingPub (@CyclingPub) July 20, 2019
?https://t.co/oLikop8Az7./Pauline BALLET pic.twitter.com/KCiRpnSRb9
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