Triple Flèche Wallonne champ Julian Alaphilippe likely to miss all Ardennes Classics
Pogačar to race Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallonne and La Doyenne
Photo by:
Sirotti
A knee injury suffered in the Tour of Flanders means that three-time La Fleche Wallonne winner Julian Alaphilippe will likely to miss all of the Ardennes Classics.
Alaphilippe was caught up in a crash in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, but finished 51st. He will definitely miss Sunday’s Amstel Gold Race and next Wednesday’s Flèche Wallonne and is doubtful for Liège-Bastogne-Liège on Sunday, April 23.
The Frenchman has come runner-up in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Last year he had a terrible crash in La Doyenne that forced him out of racing for two months and affected the rest of season. This season he has one victory at February’s 1.Pro-rated Faun-Ardèche Classic.
Alaphilippe’s Soudal-Quick Step team is hoping that Remco Evenepoel can save its spring. The team has no one-day WorldTour race victories yet, but had tallied eight WorldTour stage race wins, including Evenepoel’s UAE Tour GC triumph.
Paris-Nice and Ronde van Vlaanderen champion Tadej Pogačar will race all three Ardennes Classics. He took Liège-Bastogne-Liège two years ago.
