Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) admitted to making a ‘small error’ in trying to follow Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) up the final climb of the Tour de la Provence but insisted he had ‘no regrets’ as he held on to second place overall.
The world champion landed his second rainbow jersey last September with the sort of impulsive racing that has made him one of the most exciting riders to watch, and he was at it again on Sunday, but he wished he’d been a little more conservative.
Quintana made his race-winning move 4.3km from the top of the 13.4km Montagne de Lure on the final stage of the four-day race, and Alaphilippe immediately responded. Indeed, he was the only one to do so, and the pair initially eased clear of the rest.
However, Alaphilippe soon paid for his eagerness. He was dropped by Quintana 3.3km from the summit and was soon caught and passed by another Colombian, Ivan Sosa (Movistar). He found support from teammate Ilan Van Wilder in a small chase group but was hanging on for dear life in the final two kilometres and lost further ground when final accelerations opened in sight of the line.
Alaphilippe placed seventh on the stage, 47 seconds behind Quintana, who also walked away with the overall title. The world champion had started the day in second place and eventually had to turn his attention to clinging onto that position, as Mattias Skjelmose (Trek-Segafredo) burst clear in the final 200 metres and came within seven seconds of snatching it.
“I think in terms of [effort] management, I’ve done better,” Alaphilippe admitted. “But no, I’m very happy.
“It’s a climb that actually suited me pretty well. It was a linear effort, and the speed was high. I think the small error I made was when I tried to follow Quintana. I should have stayed in my own tempo and waited for the last moments, but there you go, I’m happy, I enjoyed it.
“I completely blew up in the final kilometres but he [Quintana] was stronger, so no regrets, I’m very happy with my first race of the season.”
In a mirror image of last year, Alaphilippe has kicked off his 2022 season with second overall at the Tour de la Provence, after another all-action display. After placing sixth on the opening prologue, he was third in the echelon sprint finish on stage 1 and second on the uphill sprint on stage 2.
He’s yet to land the first win of his second stint in the rainbow jersey but pointed out that his main objectives are still ahead of him.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to be up there already,” he said. “I need to continue in this good way. Bigger objectives are coming in a few weeks, so I’m satisfied.”
Alaphilippe will next compete at the Drome and Ardèche Classics in France in a fortnight’s time, before racing Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo either side of Tirreno-Adriatico.
