After a period of uncertainty surrounding whether Julian Alaphilippe would be racing the UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong, Australia, the two-time world champion has been confirmed as starting.
Alaphilippe, who triumphed in Imola and Leuven, crashed out of the Vuelta a España just under two weeks ago on stage 11 of the race, dislocating his shoulder in the process.
His Worlds participation hung in the balance, and his QuickStep-AlphaVinyl team boss Patrick Lefevere has since said it would be “risky” for him to race in Australia, but the French Cycling Federation (FFC) have confirmed that he’ll lead their men’s selection next week.
A strong squad sees Alaphilippe head up a nine-man group that also includes Romain Bardet, newly naturalised citizen Pavel Sivakov, and Christophe Laporte.
Major names missing the selection include several climbers such as David Gaudu, Thibaut Pinot, and Guillaume Martin, as well as sprinter Arnaud Démare.
More to come…
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