Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep), 24
Common sense dictates you shouldn’t expect too much from a recently-turned 24-year-old in his debut Tour de France, but Julian’s Alaphilippe’s career to date has hardly followed a standard script.
The Frenchman hit the ground running in his first season as a professional last year – with second at Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the Tour of California – and has since shown few limits to the breadth and depth of his talents.
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Earlier this year he won California via victory on the summit finish stage before displaying his versatility at the Critérium du Dauphiné last week. 6th overall behind some esteemed names like Froome and Contador, he was 5th on the brutally steep opening prologue and in the top 10 on the mountain stages – at the same time as placing highly in the bunch sprints, finishing second and ahead of a certain Nacer Bouhanni on stage 4.
Alaphilippe, seemingly, can do it all and, although there are limits to what can be expected of someone as yet untested across a three-week race, it wouldn’t be considered a surprise should he surpass those expectations.
Marcel Kittel and Dan Martin are set to be the focal points of Etixx’s team, but it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Alaphilippe triumphing on one of the punchy stages, or winning from a break on a mountain day, or even finishing in the top 20 overall and contesting the white jersey.
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