Sassenage (France) (AFP)

Julian Alaphilippe wants to "finish well" the Tour de France and "try again" after his stage victory and his three days in yellow but he does not intend to arrive "too tired" in Paris, a week before the World Cup in Imola , he insisted Monday.

"I remain motivated and I really want to finish this Tour well but the main objective is not to finish too tired", delivered the French puncher during the day off.

"The goal for me is to try again, keeping in mind everything that will follow behind, the Worlds then the classics," he said.

+ Alaf + ticked two of the next three alpine stages, the 16th towards Villard-de-Lans on Tuesday then the 18th arriving at La Roche-sur-Foron on Thursday after the ascent of the Glières plateau.

"The one that suits me the most and that I like a lot", posted the five-time stage winner on the Big Loop.

"I am canceling the stage of the Col de la Loze (the 17th, Wednesday) which, for me, has every chance of being the scene of a victory for the favorites in the general classification," said Julian Alaphilippe.

"It's really difficult to get out of the peloton in general and maybe I'm more marked than the other years", analyzes the Frenchman to explain his lack of success during the stages towards Sarran and Lyon.

Whatever, his "Tour is already successful", he insists.

© 2020 AFP