A former white jersey holder at this years Tour, the 24-year-old Julian Alaphilippe spent the whole day in the escape, before notching up another top 5.
Returning to the Tour de France for the first time in four years, the brutal Col du Grand Colombier (12.8 kilometers, 6.8%) shattered the leading group, Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) and Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) taking off and building an advantage of 40 seconds. No one responded to this move, no one except Etixx – Quick-Step’s Julian Alaphilippe that is, who powered away from the other escapees and crested the Hors Catégorie climb 25 seconds behind the duo.
In 2015, we got to watch Alaphillipe animate the Amgen Tour of California with his stage win on Mount Baldy and this past May, we got to witness Alaphilippe’s talent again as he claimed the King of the Mountain points on Stage 2 on Angeles Crest Highway.
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Photo © Christy Nicholson / EchelonDesignPhoto.com
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