World Championships 2022: Julian Alaphilippe set to defend rainbow jersey after being named in French team

ByHarry Latham Coyle

Published 13/09/2022 at 10:06 GMT

The Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider had appeared a major doubt for his title defence after crashing out of La Vuelta, but has recovered sufficiently to lead France as he seeks a third consecutive crown. Patrick Lefevere, boss at Quick-Step, had indicated that he would have preferred his rider skip the Worlds to focus on the late-season swing of Italian classics.

Julian Alaphilippe is set to defend his men's road race title at the 2022 UCI World Championships after being named in the French selection for Australia.

Alaphilippe had been doubtful for the week in Wollongong after crashing out of La Vuelta a Espana, but has overcome a dislocated shoulder to lead the France squad.

The 30-year-old will be seeking at third consecutive crown after taking the rainbow jersey in Imola and Flanders, and shapes as another likely contender.

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The 268.3km route through New South Wales includes 12 laps of a Wollongong City Circuit encompassing a short and sharp ascent to Mount Pleasant, a climb of just over a kilometre with gradients peaking at 14%.

Alaphilippe will be supported in Australia by a strong French team of nine riders that also includes Romain Bardet (Team DSM) and Christophe Laporte (Jumbo-Visma), who have each performed well in 2022.

The crash in Spain on Stage 11 was Alaphilippe's second major incident of the season.

The Frenchman missed a major chunk of the first half of the year after crashing heavily at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and also caught Covid-19 in July.

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Patrick Lefevere, Alaphilippe's boss at Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, suggested that he would rather his rider focussed on the end-of-season swing of Italian classics than seek a third world title after a disrupted season.

“I also heard the news about his participation,” Lefevere told Sporza.

“He wants to risk it, but I don’t think it’s that smart. If I had been him, I would have let the World Championships pass me by and put everything on the Italian races. But I understand the pressure of – what I will call – French politics. I don’t pay him to ride for the French team. Becoming world champion is nice, but I’d rather have him race in our jersey.

“He was not in the best condition before the Vuelta. What I saw there was good, but I think it’s risky.”

There is no place in the French selection for Benoit Cosnefroy, who turned down a place in the squad before claiming his first win of 2022 in impressive fashion at the Grand Prix de Québec.

Climbers David Gaudu, Thibaut Pinot and Guillaume Martin are also excluded, though there is a place for Pavel Sivakov after the France-raised Ineos Grenadiers rider switched his nationality from Russia in March.

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Remi Cavagna will bid to improve his seventh placed finish from 2020 in the men's time trial, with Bruno Armirail also part of both elite men's squads and the mixed relay team event against the clock.

The French women's team is likely to be led by Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Trek-Segafredo) with support from the talented Juliette Labous (Team DSM), who has enjoyed a breakthrough year and finished fourth in the general classification at the Tour de France Femmes.

French selection for the UCI Road World Championships

Elite men's road race: Julian Alaphilippe, Romain Bardet, Pavel Sivakov, Christophe Laporte, Valentin Madouas, Quentin Pacher, Florian Sénéchal, Rémi Cavagna, Bruno Armirail

Elite women's road race: Audrey Cordon-Ragot, Juliette Labous, Evita Muzic, Aude Biannic, Coralie Demay, Marie Le Net, Gladys Verhulst

Elite men's time trial: Rémi Cavagna, Bruno Armirail

Elite women's time trial: Juliette Labous, Marie Le Net

Mixed relay TTT: Rémi Cavagna, Bruno Armirail, Aude Biannic, Coralie Demay, Marie Le Net, Eddy Le Huitouze

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Stream the 2022 UCI Road World Championships live and on-demand on discovery+. You can also watch all the action live on eurosport.co.uk.

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