Alaphilippe powers to victory at the Czech Tour
![Alaphilippe powers to victory at the Czech Tour](/images/news_article/c_c/800x400/julian-alaphilippe-czech-tour-stage-4-podium_1722174784.jpg)
Soudal Quick-Step bookended this year’s Czech Tour in style. After neo-pro Luke Lamperti sprinted to victory on the opening day, Julian Alaphilippe brought down the curtain over the race with a spectacular win in Sternberk, where the event came to a conclusion Sunday afternoon.
A hilly local circuit that the peloton had to cover four times was where the stage came to life in the final 30 kilometers, as soon as the original breakaway got caught. Kasper Asgreen and Antoine Huby tried to shake things up by going on the attack, two successive moves that had the desired result, as the peloton split on Sternberk, the 1km climb which averaged 8.1% and featured some tricky cobblestone sections.
The penultimate time up there, a strong twelve-man group featuring Julian Alaphilippe zipped clear and opened a nice gap on the chasers. On the fast descent, Huby managed to come back and proved to be of great help for his countryman, setting a strong tempo and keeping things together. As the group tackled the steepest part of the hill, Alaphilippe produced a solid acceleration that only yellow jersey Marc Hirchi (UAE Team Emirates) could match after some considerable effort, and the two powered clear of the rest.
The duo worked well together, but the chasers somehow bridged across with 800 meters to go, complicating the finale. Julian kept his composure and measured his effort perfectly just as the road began to rise in the closing 300 meters, letting Hirschi open the sprint before kicking out on a right-hand bend and taking his 44th pro victory.
“I am very happy with this stage win, which wouldn’t have been possible without the beautiful work of my teammates, who controlled the stage and brought me where I needed to be going into the final laps. The circuit, with the cobbles and that descent, was hard and demanding, but I enjoyed it. I felt good today and gave my best, so I’m of course delighted with this success. It’s good for morale before travelling to Paris”, said the two-time World Champion.
Photo credit: ©Jan Brychta
Race details
1 |
Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step |
3:01:30 |
2 |
Marc Hirschi UAE Team Emirates |
0:00 |
3 |
Sergio Higuita García Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe |
0:00 |
4 |
Mark Donovan Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team |
0:00 |
5 |
Kevin Vermaerke Team dsm-firmenich PostNL |
0:00 |
6 |
Diego Ulissi UAE Team Emirates |
0:00 |
7 |
Andrew August INEOS Grenadiers |
0:00 |
8 |
Kamiel Bonneu Team Flanders - Baloise |
0:00 |
9 |
Marco Brenner Tudor Pro Cycling Team |
0:00 |
10 |
Andreas Leknessund Uno-X Mobility |
0:00 |
13 |
Luke Lamperti
Soudal Quick-Step |
0:22 |
28 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal Quick-Step |
1:44 |
74 |
Kasper Asgreen
Soudal Quick-Step |
5:02 |
88 |
Antoine Huby
Soudal Quick-Step |
7:36 |
93 |
James Knox
Soudal Quick-Step |
7:36 |
DNF |
Josef Černý
Soudal Quick-Step |
-03:01:30 |
1 |
Marc Hirschi UAE Team Emirates |
14:06:40 |
2 |
Diego Ulissi UAE Team Emirates |
0:28 |
3 |
Sergio Higuita García Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe |
0:33 |
4 |
Kevin Vermaerke Team dsm-firmenich PostNL |
0:44 |
5 |
Marco Brenner Tudor Pro Cycling Team |
0:44 |
6 |
Michael Storer Tudor Pro Cycling Team |
0:56 |
7 |
Andrew August INEOS Grenadiers |
1:00 |
8 |
Mark Donovan Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team |
1:01 |
9 |
Kamiel Bonneu Team Flanders - Baloise |
1:01 |
10 |
Andreas Leknessund Uno-X Mobility |
1:18 |
26 |
Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step |
6:30 |
39 |
Mattia Cattaneo
Soudal Quick-Step |
13:24 |
65 |
James Knox
Soudal Quick-Step |
27:53 |
77 |
Antoine Huby
Soudal Quick-Step |
31:02 |
95 |
Luke Lamperti
Soudal Quick-Step |
42:27 |
102 |
Kasper Asgreen
Soudal Quick-Step |
46:45 |
1 |
Marc Hirschi UAE Team Emirates |
65 pt |
2 |
Diego Ulissi UAE Team Emirates |
46 pt |
3 |
Sergio Higuita García Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe |
44 pt |
4 |
Kevin Vermaerke Team dsm-firmenich PostNL |
41 pt |
5 |
Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step |
30 pt |
6 |
Luke Lamperti
Soudal Quick-Step |
28 pt |
7 |
Lukáš Kubiš Elkov - Kasper |
26 pt |
8 |
Marco Brenner Tudor Pro Cycling Team |
26 pt |
9 |
Mark Donovan Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team |
26 pt |
10 |
Thomas Gloag Team Visma | Lease a Bike |
25 pt |
1 |
Michal Schuran ATT Investments |
20 pt |
2 |
Lukáš Kubiš Elkov - Kasper |
16 pt |
3 |
Marc Hirschi UAE Team Emirates |
14 pt |
4 |
Diego Ulissi UAE Team Emirates |
10 pt |
5 |
Thomas Gloag Team Visma | Lease a Bike |
8 pt |
6 |
Paul Double Team Polti Kometa |
8 pt |
7 |
Tomáš Kalojíros Pierre Baguette Cycling |
6 pt |
8 |
Kevin Vermaerke Team dsm-firmenich PostNL |
6 pt |
9 |
Mats Wenzel Lidl - Trek Future Racing |
6 pt |
10 |
Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step |
4 pt |
18 |
Kasper Asgreen
Soudal Quick-Step |
2 pt |
1 |
Marco Brenner Tudor Pro Cycling Team |
14:07:24 |
2 |
Andrew August INEOS Grenadiers |
0:16 |
3 |
Johannes Staune-Mittet Team Visma | Lease a Bike |
3:55 |
4 |
Giacomo Villa Bingoal WB |
4:59 |
5 |
Mats Wenzel Lidl - Trek Future Racing |
5:36 |
6 |
Alexander Hajek Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe |
7:08 |
7 |
Dario Igor Belletta Team Visma | Lease a Bike |
10:09 |
8 |
Finlay Pickering Bahrain - Victorious |
11:13 |
9 |
Andrii Ponomar Team Corratec - Vini Fantini |
12:29 |
10 |
Michael Leonard INEOS Grenadiers |
13:00 |
23 |
Luke Lamperti
Soudal Quick-Step |
41:43 |
1 | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 42:31:57 |
2 | Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe | 1:05 |
3 | Team Polti Kometa | 1:47 |
4 | UAE Team Emirates | 1:53 |
5 | Uno-X Mobility | 5:10 |
6 | Team Corratec - Vini Fantini | 6:06 |
7 | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | 7:45 |
8 | Intermarché - Wanty | 10:22 |
9 | Team Flanders - Baloise | 12:00 |
10 | INEOS Grenadiers | 19:05 |