With the 2026 Tour de France as his final race, Julian Alaphilippe has decided to end his career. He was the connecting thread between the “old” generation of riders and the new era of phenomenons. He knew how to navigate both, always showing off his class regardless. He won often and repeatedly against the old guard, but also managed to adapt to the arrival of Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu Van der Poel, becoming an even more spectacular and unpredictable rider than he already was in his early career.
The palmares speaks for itself: 2 consecutive World Championships, one in Imola and one in Leuven, a Milano-Sanremo, a Strade Bianche, 3 Freccia Vallone, 6 stages at the Tour de France and one at the Giro d’Italia, for a total of 45 wins among the greats. And yet describing him by his win count alone does him a disservice, because Alaphilippe was a rider capable of thrilling even when he wasn’t winning, even when he came up against stronger rivals. Because, in the end, that never really mattered much to him — what mattered was finishing races without regrets, having given everything and entertained the fans. And he managed to do that very often, especially wearing the Wolfpack jersey of Quick-Step.
One of his last great exploits came at the 2024 Giro d’Italia: a 136 km breakaway, up and down the walls of the Marche region, followed by a solo ride to the finish in Fano. A single participation in the Corsa Rosa, but honored in the grandest way.
In Italy, though, we’ll remember him for the sprint and triumph on Via Roma in Sanremo, which came just days after his blow struck on the wall of Via Santa Caterina at Strade Bianche. Not to mention his hat-trick of stages at Tirreno-Adriatico, in Pomarance and Jesi in 2019, and in Chiusdino in 2021, ahead of Van der Poel, Van Aert and Pogačar.
“I gave everything I had, and cycling gave me everything back,” said Alaphilippe. “That’s why I can say it with a smile: I’m stopping. Not with sadness, but with immense gratitude. Thank you to all the fans who pushed me up every climb. Thank you for everything. I’m retiring now because it’s the right moment to do it. I’ve always raced on instinct, attacking when my legs were on fire, not when the numbers told me to. I made this decision the same way. I woke up one morning at training camp and I just felt it: this is my last year. No sadness.”
What can we say… Merci LouLou! The peloton will surely miss him.
