The 34th edition takes place between 9-11 August.
Back in 2014, a 22-year-old Julian Alaphilippe attacked out of a select group on the roads to Arbent and took a memorable solo victory, on the last stage of the Tour de l’Ain. It was Alaphilippe’s first win in the pro ranks, to which he has since added more than thirty more, including two World Titles, a Monument and seven Grand Tour stages. Now, the Frenchman will be back at the race, his final appearance before a return to La Vuelta.
Comprising ten classified climbs – including the likes of Col de Portes (8.2km, 5.8%) and Col de Menthières (9.1km, 6.4%) – and boasting a vertical gain of more than 7000 vertical meters spread over just three day of racing, the Tour de l’Ain will see Rémi Cavagna – sixth overall recently at the Tour de Pologne, in his first outing since the National Championships – Dries Devenyns, Stan Van Tricht, Mauri Vansevenant and Louis Vervaeke join Alaphilippe on the start line in Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne, next Tuesday.
“We’re motivated to go for the best result possible next week. Unfortunately, Julian missed a couple of days due to Covid, but we hope he will get back on track in what will be his final preparation race for the Vuelta. He will have a good team by his side, featuring Dries, Stan, Louis, Mauri and Rémi, the last two coming to the start from Poland, where they both did a strong race”, said Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl sports director Wilfried Peeters.
Photo credit: ©Luc Claessen / Getty Images
