Julian Alaphilippe: World champion again, in spite of himself

Julian Alaphiilppe (France) wins the world title at the UCI Road World Championships 2021
Julian Alaphiilppe (France) wins the world title at the UCI Road World Championships 2021 (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Julian Alaphilippe looked strangely bewildered as he stood on the podium in Leuven, the rainbow jersey safely on his shoulders for another year, and it still hadn’t sunk in by the time he spoke to the media. In fact, it might not sink for a while yet. 

“I think I need time,” the Frenchman said repeatedly after winning the world road race title on Sunday for a second year in succession.

Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is a freelance sports writer and editor. He’s an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish). Patrick worked full-time at Cyclingnews for eight years between 2015 and 2023, latterly as Deputy Editor.