Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) took his maiden Tour de France stage victory at Le Grand-Bornand today, and also the prestigious polka dot jersey. The win came at the end of a 158.5km-long stage peppered with five classified climb, four of which were won by Alaphilippe, the same rider who initiated the day’s breakaway which numbered 21 riders, including teammate Philippe Gilbert.
“I came close to winning a stage at my debut two years ago and I know it’s not easy to get a stage in the Tour de France, that’s why I am overwhelmed with emotion,” Alaphilippe said in Le Grand-Bornand, where a Tour de France stage finished for only the fourth time in history. “It’s really amazing, I can’t even find my words, but I’m thinking about my family and I’m really glad to have made them happy. It’s for sure an amazing day, it couldn’t have been better than this.”
The riders faced the first mountain stage of the 105th edition, one which packed the steep Montée des Glières, with its unsurfaced plateau – which Alaphilippe knew well from the 2013 Tour de l’Avenir, where he won that stage – Col de Romme and Col de la Colombière, last of these peaking 14.5 kilometres from the finish.
Alaphilippe laid the foundations of his victory on the penultimate ascent, when he set out in pursuit of lone leader Rein Taaramae (Direct Energie), catching him with two kilometres to go to the top and dropping the Estonian to claim maximum points, before flying over the short descent to the bottom of the last climb.
Going onto Colombière, Alaphilippe had a lead of over a minute on his closest chaser and kept extending the advantage on the 7.5km-climb averaging 8.5%, as the continued to add more points to his tally and speed down the descent, which he mastered to perfection, inching closer to an emphatic and well-deserved win.
With two kilometres to go, the 26-year-old began to smile and wave to the camera, knowing that the maiden Tour de France victory was in his pocket, and came with a bonus, the KOM jersey, which he donned in the Savoyard resort for the first time in his career.
“Taking a stage in the Tour de France has always been a dream and turning it into reality feels extraordinary. It was a hard day, especially in the last 30 kilometres, when I was alone, but that makes this moment even more special and beautiful,” said Alaphilippe.
Alaphilippe stressed that taking home the mountains jersey isn’t a goal at this point in the race, despite amassing a significant number of points: “It’s an honour to wear the iconic polka dot jersey, but I’m not thinking yet of winning it. I will just take it day by day, while at the same time continuing to help my team and Bob – who is fifth in the overall standings. There’s a long way to go until Paris and we hope to do other beautiful things before we reach it.”
