Four years since he last won a WorldTour one-day race, Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) took a throwback win at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec on Friday, soloing clear of a select group in the finale to nab his first victory of the year.
All eyes are on Tadej Pogačar this weekend in Canada as he returns to racing ahead of his title defense at Worlds and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG duly made their presence felt at the GP Québec – but Alaphilippe had their number in the end, leaving UAE's Pavel Sivakov to settle for second with Alberto Bettiol (XDS-Astana) in third on the day.
With strong legs and savvy riding too, the 33-year-old Frenchman proved he still has something left in the tank at the end of an entertaining 216 km race, made harder this year as organizers switched to a new climb as the decisive feature on the circuit. More than 70 km from the finish, Alaphilippe joined a strong group of chasers in pursuit of the day's breakaway, which had been brought a bit closer by the work of Alaphilippe's Tudor team.
Even if the rest of the cycling world has started to think of Alaphilippe as a rider in the twilight of his career, he and his teammates made it clear on Friday that they remain staunch Alabelievers.
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