The 31-year-old had a solid outing at the week-long season opener.
Julian Alaphilippe racked up his 12th top ten in a World Tour stage race on Sunday, when the 24th edition of the Tour Down Under came to a conclusion. The Frenchman entered the day in sixth place overall and held on to this position at the end of the short but intense stage to Mount Lofty, the 1.6km climb which featured three times on the course.
For the second consecutive day, a Soudal Quick-Step rider was in the break, this time Gil Gelders being the one who produced a strong ride on the hard course between Unley and Mount Lofty. The U23 Gent-Wevelgem and GiroNextGen stage winner showed some great legs in the seven-man group that formed after some crazy fast fifteen kilometers, and was among the last to get caught just four kilometers from the finish.
Attacks soon came in quick succession, which eventually led to five men getting away and fighting for the victory. It was Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) who took it, while behind Julian Alaphilippe won the chasing group sprint, crossing the line in sixth position.
“The motivation was there for the last stage. It was a good day for us with Gil in the breakaway, while the rest of the guys once again stayed around me and worked hard for me going into the final climb. I felt good and I’m happy with what the squad has shown here. The confidence is there especially after this hard weekend, and I feel that slowly I am getting back to a good level. I enjoyed this race and being in Australia, and now I will return home and continue my preparations for the next goals”, said Julian, who at the end of February will line up at the start of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
