"I'm here to ride a bike, the rest of it makes me laugh," said Julian Alaphilippe, questioned on Friday about possible suspicions that could arise if the French, surprise winner of the time trial of Pau, kept Sunday night after the Pyrenees the yellow jersey of the Tour de France.
"I do not think that at all, I'm not here to answer that," said Alaphilippe, who was asked a question on the subject Friday, at the very end of a press conference. "I know the work I did to get there, I am the first surprised."
"When we succeed, it necessarily means"
"If it creates suspicion, it's like that, when you succeed, it necessarily speaks, it creates suspicion," he continued. "If I was a red lantern, there would not be any, it creates speeches, but I'm here to ride a bike and I'm having fun, the rest of it makes me laugh".
The Deceuninck rider was ahead of Geraint Thomas, the title holder, 14 seconds behind the clock around Pau. He is ahead of the Welsh 1 minute and 26 seconds in the overall standings on the eve of the first arrival at altitude, at the top of the Tourmalet.