French cyclist Julian Alaphilippe announced his retirement from professional sports on Friday, ending a career with the Tudor team that yielded two world titles.
The 34-year-old native of Saint-Amand-Montrond confirmed his departure in a farewell interview published by his team Tudor, following a report by the French newspaper L'Équipe.
Alaphilippe said he had given everything to cycling and that the sport had given him everything in return, allowing him to stop with a smile and immense gratitude rather than sadness.
The announcement was widely anticipated after Alaphilippe stated at the conclusion of the last Tour de France, which he completed without winning any stages, that he would probably not return to the race. He noted at the time that while nothing was official, spectators should not expect to see him back on the Grande Boucle, as the French Grand Tour is known in cycling.
His departure marks the end of an era for French cycling following the retirements of Thibaut Pinot in 2023 and Romain Bardet in 2025. Among the trio of prominent French riders who headlined the sport over the past fifteen years, Alaphilippe achieved the most successful record. At his peak, he was widely regarded as the finest puncheur in world cycling, a rider capable of explosive accelerations on short, steep climbs. He won widespread popularity among French fans for his audacious racing style, though his willingness to attack early sometimes earned him the nickname of a loser magnifique when those moves fell short.
His career spanned from his first professional victory on stage four of the 2013 Tour de Bretagne to a final standing ovation on Rue Lepic during his ultimate Tour de France. Over those thirteen seasons, he compiled major victories across classical one-day races and Grand Tour stages.
Breakthrough victory at La Flèche Wallonne
Before his major breakthrough, Alaphilippe endured a period of near-misses. After taking early career victories in 2013 on stage four of the Tour de Bretagne, at the Grand Prix Südkärnten in Austria, and on stage three of the Tour of Thuringia in Germany, he repeatedly finished just outside the top step of the podium. In 2015, he finished second at La Flèche Wallonne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and the Tour of California. In 2016, he placed second at the European Road Championships and fourth in the Olympic road race in Rio de Janeiro, before taking second at the Tour of Lombardy in 2017.
The turning point arrived in 2018. Following two stage victories at the Tour of the Basque Country, Alaphilippe delivered a decisive performance on the Mur de Huy, the steep climb in Belgium that finishes La Flèche Wallonne. The former cyclo-cross specialist outsprinted Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde, a five-time winner of the event, to claim his first classic. He became the first French rider to win La Flèche Wallonne since Laurent Jalabert in 1997. Alaphilippe subsequently won the Belgian classic again in 2019, becoming the first Frenchman to achieve back-to-back victories, and added a third title in 2021.
First Monument triumph at Milan-San Remo
Alaphilippe carried his momentum into 2019, starting the year with two stage wins at the Tour of San Juan in Argentina, two stage victories at Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy, and a win at Strade Bianche, the Italian race famous for its white gravel roads. Two weeks after Strade Bianche, he lined up for Milan-San Remo, the longest one-day event on the professional cycling calendar and one of the sport's five prestigious Monument classics.
Displaying composure in the final sprint, Alaphilippe edged out Belgian rider Oliver Naesen and Polish racer Michal Kwiatkowski to secure his first Monument victory, breaking into tears after crossing the line. It proved to be the sole Monument victory of his career, despite several close finishes in subsequent years. He placed second at Milan-San Remo in 2020, crashed out while contending near the finish of the Tour of Flanders in 2020, and finished fifth and second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Yellow jersey run at the Tour de France
Throughout his career, Alaphilippe featured in eight editions of the Tour de France, competing in 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2026. In 2018, he won two individual stages and secured the red-and-white polka dot jersey awarded to the Tour's best climber. He added further stage wins in 2020 and 2021, spending several days wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey in both editions. He was the first French rider to hold the yellow jersey in back-to-back years since Thierry Marie achieved the feat in 1990 and 1991.
His most memorable performance at the Tour de France came during the 2019 edition. On stage three, Alaphilippe launched an attack on the Côte de Mutigny climb and rode solo into Épernay to claim the stage and take the overall lead. He went on to wear the yellow jersey for 14 days, defending it through a victory in the stage 13 individual time trial. Although he eventually relinquished the lead on stage 19 in the Alps due to exhaustion, he held on to finish fifth overall in Paris, marking his career-best finish in the general classification of a Grand Tour.
Consecutive World Championship titles in Imola and Leuven
Alaphilippe reached the pinnacle of international cycling during the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season. Competing for the Deceuninck-Quick Step team on a hilly circuit in Imola, Italy, he launched a decisive attack on the final climb of the Gallisterna with 12 kilometers remaining. He distanced all rivals to win the road race World Championship solo, becoming the first French male rider to wear the rainbow jersey since Laurent Brochard in 1997. Alaphilippe described the victory as the fulfillment of his career dream.
Despite being heavily marked by competitors the following year in Leuven, Belgium, Alaphilippe defended his rainbow jersey in 2021. He initiated an offensive 50 kilometers from the finish line and rode clear to take another solo victory. His nearest pursuers, Dylan van Baarle of the Netherlands, Michael Valgren of Denmark, Jasper Stuyven of Belgium, and Neilson Powless of the United States, crossed the line 32 seconds later. The victory made Alaphilippe the first French cyclist in history to win consecutive World Championship titles.
Career-altering crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège
Although Alaphilippe suffered several crashes during his professional career, the most severe occurred during the 2022 edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège. While traveling at more than 80 kilometers per hour on a high-speed descent, he crashed into a roadside ditch alongside multiple other riders in a large pileup. He sustained multiple severe injuries, including fractured ribs, a perforated lung, and a broken shoulder blade.
His compatriot Romain Bardet stopped his own race to assist him on the roadside. Bardet later explained that nobody was coming and that Alaphilippe urgently needed assistance in an emergency, noting that Alaphilippe was conscious but unable to move or breathe properly, which Bardet described as a profound emotional shock. Alaphilippe's partner, Marion Rousse, later recalled in a documentary broadcast on L'Équipe that almost all his limbs were affected, adding that the inability to breathe or move while lying on the ground left him traumatized.
The crash marked a turning point in his career, as he struggled to regain his former explosive form. He nevertheless recorded several notable victories in his final seasons, winning the Classic de l'Ardèche in 2023, an individual stage of the Giro d'Italia in 2024, and the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec in 2025. While he did not replicate the dominant form that made him one of the sport's premier riders, those later achievements completed a palmarès that leaves a lasting mark on French cycling history.
