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Julian Alaphilippe has been given the green light to race Liège-Bastogne-Liège, joining defending champion Remco Evenepoel in Soudal-QuickStep’s line-up with a free role.
Alaphilippe was a doubt for La Doyenne after a knee injury sustained at the Tour of Flanders ruled him out of Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne.
It was touch-and-go whether the two-time world champion would also cancel Liège, and he suggested that if he did end up riding then it would only be in service of the current world champion, Evenepoel.
Despite this being the final race of the spring and despite admitting his mind was already on the Tour de France, Alaphilippe has been confirmed for Sunday’s race.
“We will see what role Julian will have; he knows the course and this race suits him perfectly,” said Soudal-QuickStep director Geert Van Bondt.
“The most important thing is that he can now train pain-free and be at the start.”
Soudal-QuickStep confirmed their full seven-man line-up for La Doyenne, with Evenepoel and Alaphilippe joined by Mauro Schmid, Andrea Bagioli, plus three of Evenepoel’s expected domestiques for the Giro d’Italia in Ilan Van Wilder, Louis Vervaeke, and Pieter Serry.
Evenepoel won Liège 12 months ago with a long-range solo effort after a stinging attack on La Redoute, and he went on to win the Vuelta a España and World Championship in a stunning season.
He comes into this year’s race almost directly from Tenerife, where he has been conducting his latest round of altitude training in preparation for next month’s Giro d’Italia.
“Remco comes here from an altitude training camp and will be very motivated, especially as he will be present at the start as the defending champion and owner of the rainbow jersey,” said Van Bondt.
“He can count on good teammates, who have a strong condition, and this makes us confident. We’ll also need to see if the wind and the rain expected on Sunday can influence the race, but as we said, the confidence is there.”
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