Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) came through his first day in yellow at Paris-Nice with flying colours, but the 24-year-old is well aware that the real test of his credentials begins on stage 6 with the three final days littered with challenges in the mountains.
The Quick-Step Floors climber finished 19th on stage 5 as Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) led home the sprint back into Bourg-de-Peage. The priority for Alaphilippe was to remain safe and sound and to make sure his legs were ready for the days to come.
"Today the main priority was to avoid crashes," Alaphilippe opened with during his post-stage press conference. "It was a lot calmer out there compared to the other days, due to the good weather – at last.
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"We controlled the race and were able to count on the help of the sprinters' teams. It was a tense finale, but that’s one day ticked off."
Stage 6 sees the race head east with 193.5 kilometres between Aubagne to Fayence and no less than six categorised climbs thrown in. The final ascent to Fayence has been compared to the Mur de Huy of Fleche Wallonne – a race where Alaphilippe has finished second twice in the last two years.
The following day is arguably the toughest concerning the profile, with the peloton set to climb the Col de la Couillole, an ascent where seconds could quickly become minutes. Alaphilippe has a 33-second advantage over compatriot Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal), while Gorka Izaguirre (Movistar), Sergio Henao (Team Sky), Alaphlippe's teammate Dan Martin, Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) all sit within 1:31.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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