“La Doyenne” will mark Julian Alaphilippe’s first outing in the rainbow jersey.
One week after bridging a 23-year gap for French cycling by becoming World Champion, Julian Alaphilippe will return to action for Deceuninck – Quick-Step at the oldest Monument of the calendar, Liège–Bastogne–Liège. Alaphilippe, who finished on the podium at his debut here, in 2015, will pull on the iconic rainbow jersey for the first time since conquering it in Imola as he looks to be again one of the major players.
The fourth different World Road Race Champion in the history of Deceuninck – Quick-Step, the 28-year-old Frenchman will be joined for Sunday’s Monument by Andrea Bagioli, Rémi Cavagna, Tim Declercq, Dries Devenyns, 2018 winner Bob Jungels and Mauri Vansevenant, who impressed with his courageous ride at the season’s first Ardennes Classic, the Flèche Wallonne.
The 106th edition will take place over a 257km course that gives little respite, the highly selective route containing eleven climbs that are expected to fragment the peloton long before the day’s final difficulty, Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons (1.3km, 11%). From the top of this viciously steep ascent, only 12 kilometers separate the riders from the center of Liège, where the race is set to conclude.
“It will be a special race for us with Julian in his rainbow jersey for the very first time. We have a nice and motivated team ready to support him, comprising strong riders who can control the race and bring him in a good position in the run-in to the climbs, which everybody knows will be very hard. The weather doesn’t look too good for Sunday, but we go there with a strong morale, hoping for another solid result at the end of the day”, said Deceuninck – Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels.
