Julian Alaphilippe will make his first appearance in a stage race since April’s Itzulia Basque Country.
In a couple of days’ time, Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl will be at the start of the 49th Tour de Wallonie, which this year puts on the table a parcours that the puncheurs and attackers will love, as they’ll have plenty of opportunities to go for victory and to leave their mark on the general classification. Having won a total of eleven stages at the previous participations – most recently in 2021, when Fabio Jakobsen scored two victories – our team will be keen to play again a prominent role over the race’s five days.
The Tour de Wallonie will mark Julian Alaphilippe’s first outing since June’s National Championships, where he had a vital role in Florian Sénéchal’s memorable triumph. The Frenchman, who recently completed an altitude training camp in Livigno, will be for just the second time in his career at the start of the Tour de Wallonie, a race where he’ll be joined by Davide Ballerini, Tim Declercq, Dries Devenyns, Iljo Keisse, Stijn Steels and Ilan Van Wilder.
“This year’s Tour de Wallonie will be a very hard race. On the very first day, the peloton tackles the Mur de Huy, which we know from Flèche Wallonne, but also the other stages in the Ardennes will be challenging. We are happy to have Julian here, as he’ll ease back into competition and prepare the second part of the season. He can fight for a stage win, as he will have support from many strong and motivated guys. Concerning the general classification, we’ll see how far he can get there, but our main goal here is to get a victory”, said Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl sports director Wilfried Peeters.
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel
