After a short break, French wonderkid Julian Alaphilippe is back racing at home in the Criterium du Dauphine. The young star at Etixx-QuickStep spoke about his recent success in the USA and racing on home soil to the team’s website.

“The week of Amgen Tour of California was really incredible. I had a great result and was super happy about what I was able to achieve. It was an experience I will never forget against some strong guys. There was a great emotion. After that performance I came back and I took a few days off. I was near Bordeaux with my girlfriend to take a few days off. We had a really great time working and discovering a new part of France.”

He isn’t sure where he will race after the Dauphine as he is scheduled to ride the Vuelta and not the Tour for his debut Grand Tour. But he has the small matter of riding for his country at the European Games and then trying to win the right to wear his national colours at the French Road Race.

“After a great time off, I started training again. We will see what will happen in the next weeks after Critérium du Dauphiné. There will be a European Championship in Baku and then the national championship. I really don't know what I can expect from those races. I'm young and want to pay attention to learning from my experiences first and foremost. For me everything is quite new, and we have to work on managing this situation.”

He spoke about his joy at being selected to race for France in the inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan.

“I'm really excited to have been selected for the Championship in Baku. The chance to ride with the national jersey is super nice. It will be a pleasure to ride there. But I'm not sure what I can expected from this race, and to be honest I don't want to think about it right now. It will be a big moment for sure. I've had great experiences from the first part of the season and now I will have also this great opportunity to ride this race. I am definitely curious about it. I don't have big expectation at this moment. We will go step-by-step. I rode a lot this year so I don't know how my condition will be in the upcoming weeks. For sure the will to do well is always there! Then after the nationals together with the team we will make a evaluation and decide the rest of the program for the season.”

He went on to confirm that despite the great press he ahs received lately, he and his team have decided not to send him to the Tour de France. He wants to attend some stages to support his teammates.

“A lot of Belgians asked me if I will ride Le Tour. No, not this year. Le Tour is a race the French guys of the peloton dream about. One day I wll ride it for sure. Just not this year. The race is really demanding, the teams are really strong, and for me and my calendar it would be too much. So I won't be there, but I won't miss any stages in front of the television. If possible I'd like to go to one stage to say hello to the guys before the race as a spectator. When you are a rider on the road you experience the race in another way. I hope to see a lot of the French public on the roads and I hope the team will have a great result. For now my focus is on Critérium du Dauphiné, and we will see what I can do there. I will learn from each stage and my goal is to ride in function of the team.”