(ANSA-AFP) – PARIS, JUN 27 – The French Julian Alaphilippe, double world champion on the road, will not participate in the Tour de France, which will start on Friday from Copenhagen. In fact, his name does not appear in the list of riders selected for the French race. Quick-Step has also decided to do without Briton Mark Cavendish, who last summer equaled Eddy Merckx’s record of stage wins in the Tour (34) and won the title of champion of Great Britain.
The Belgian team, led by Patrick Lefevere, has included the Dutch sprinter Fabio Jakobsen among the squads called up for the Tour.
Alaphilippe’s absence is explained by the consequences of the fall of April 24, in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Since 2018 the Frenchman shines at every edition of the Tour: in 2019 he won two stages and wore the yellow jersey for 14 days, before giving it up and settling for fifth place. After the severe fall in spring, resulting in haemopneumothorax, fractured shoulder blade and two broken ribs, Alaphilippe had embarked on a real race against time to recover ahead of the Tour. Alaphilippe returned to the race on Sunday in Cholet and contributed to the victory of teammate Florian Sénéchal. In a statement, Tom Steels, director of Quick-Step, stresses that “the decision to leave Julian at home was very difficult, as he is one of the most iconic riders of the team”. “Julian – he adds – has worked hard to get back in shape after what happened to him in Liège but, for a rider like him, it is always important to be at the top and be able to fight with the best in the group. That’s why we decided to give him more. time to recover “. (ANSA-AFP).
Source: Ansa
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