His lone previous Vuelta appearance in 2017, of course, preceded a sparkling run of late season form, including a near miss at the Bergen Worlds and second place at Il Lombardia. And I want to be in the action at the Vuelta and have better sensations than in the last week,” Alaphilippe said. “At the Vuelta, we want to do a good race as a team. It remains to be seen what Alaphilippe can achieve at the Vuelta, where he lines out in a QuickStep-AlphaVinyl squad led by Remco Evenepoel, such a dominant winner of the Clasica San Sebastian last week. I just want to enjoy it and see how I feel after having had COVID-19.” “On Sunday and the Tour de l’Ain, I’ll be able to put in some big efforts ahead of the Vuelta, without thinking about a result or a performance. I’ll make the efforts and then the race will give me some answers. “I have morale and desire, even if physically I don’t know how I’m going. I haven’t been incredible the last few days in training,” Alaphilippe said. The symptoms have gone now but I can feel that I’m still a bit tired. His ambitions for Leuven and the Tour de l’Ain are accordingly modest. Although his victory on the Mur de Huy suggested his sharpness had not been unduly blunted by his long stint at altitude in Livigno in July (opens in new tab), he has since spent a week or so off the bike following his COVID-19 diagnosis. Intensity is precisely what Alaphilippe is lacking after a staccato 2022 campaign. “It’s nice to come back to my roots, but it will be three intense days of racing too.” “It’s strange to come back, but I’m also happy to do so because I don’t always have the chance to ride French races close to where I’m from,” Alaphilippe said. As a callow 22-year-old, he beat Dan Martin to the line on the final stage in Arbent in 2014 to land the maiden win of his professional career. After racing in the city of his greatest triumph on Sunday, Alaphilippe will return to the site of his first victory next week when he lines out at the Tour de l’Ain for the first time in eight years.
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