It’s for the second consecutive year that our rider receives the prestigious award.
The Vélo d’Or Français trophy is a well-deserved reward for Julian Alaphilippe, who in the month of September became first Frenchman in 23 years to triumph at the World Road Race Championships. A pre-race favourite in Imola, Alaphilippe attacked from an elite group with 13 kilometers to go just as the gradient was beginning to bite on the toughest climb of the race, dispatched all his opponents and soloed to a career-defining victory.
Apart from that memorable success, Deceuninck – Quick-Step’s rider enjoyed another solid Tour de France – claiming stage 2 in Nice after a trademark attack backed up by a powerful sprint on the Promenade des Anglais and wearing the iconic yellow jersey for three days in a row – and won Brabantse Pijl, just his second race since conquering the rainbow stripes.
“Winning the Vélo d’Or Français makes me very happy, it’s nice to see that my results didn’t go unnoticed and I was again named best French rider of the year, thus getting another trophy. This season has been a special and different one, with plenty of challenges, but I managed to achieve many of my goals and I can be satisfied with what I did, the world title I won in Italy being, of course, the cherry on the top.”
“The rainbow jersey is the most beautiful in the world and wearing it in a few races before the season ended made me realise what a huge honour it is to have it. This gives me a lot of motivation for next year. I can’t wait to be in action with my Deceuninck – Quick-Step teammates and fight for some more nice results”, added Julian Alaphilippe.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
