"Definitely...".

Alaphilippe's message on Twitter does not hide his annoyance or his fatalism.

"I had to give up taking the start this morning on the Tour de Wallonie following a positive test for Covid-19", he explained, laconic.

Friday at a press conference, even before this new twist of fate, he had been less diplomatic in summing up his year: "A series of m...".

The 30-year-old Frenchman was counting on the Belgian event to prepare for the end of the season and try to save a hitherto disappointing 2022: after the Tour de Wallonie, he wanted to line up in the Clasica San Sebastian at the weekend. next with the aim of shining during the Tour of Spain (August 19-Sept 11) and especially at the World Cup-2022 in Australia, at the end of September.

If it is still too early to know if his calendar will be deeply impacted, this abandonment in the Tour de Wallonie is yet another blow.

In 2022, "Alaf" first fell during the Strade Bianche in early March in Tuscany, then suffered from bronchitis which forced him to forfeit Milan-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders.

"Just Not the Legs"

But it was on April 24 during Liège-Bastogne-Liège that he hit rock bottom with an impressive fall and a terrible shock against a tree.

Balance sheet, a pneumothorax, two broken ribs and a fracture to a shoulder blade, synonymous with long hospitalization and prolonged absence.

Returning to competition during the French Championship at the end of June (13th in a race won by his teammate Florian Sénéchal) just before the Tour de France 2022, he was ultimately not selected by his team for the Grande Boucle.

A difficult decision to accept for the darling of the French public but which was the right one: "Julian told me that if he had competed in the Tour, he would have exploded after eight days", justified the Belgian manager of Quick Step, Patrick Lefevere, two weeks ago.

His return to competition in the Tour de Wallonie had started well with a victory in the first stage in the purest Alaphilippe style at the top of the Mur de Huy, which is so successful for him as evidenced by his three victories in the Flèche Wallonne (2018, 2019, 2021).

Julian Alaphilippe crosses the line of the 1st stage of the Tour de Wallonie in victory at Mur de Huy, July 23, 2022 JOHN THYS BELGA / AFP / Archives

But the next day, he was unable to follow the best in a hilly stage between Verviers and Herve.

"I just didn't have the legs", he explained on arrival, without suspecting that the covid was perhaps responsible for this weakness.

"These are bad times in a career. It happens to everyone but this season was a bit too much for me. I know I haven't been where I wanted to be," he said.

"With the world champion's jersey, it's immediately catastrophic in terms of public expectations. But I now have good goals for the end of the season," he added without knowing that he didn't. had not finished with its setbacks.

© 2022 AFP