Confidence had also returned after the Tour Down Under (6th in the general classification) at the start of the season, but it was short-lived. Upon his return to Europe, the Frenchman had to abandon the Circuit Het Nieuwsblad after falling, before experiencing another mishap on the Strade Bianche. From the Italian classic onwards, Alaf' ran all the other classics anonymously – apart from a 9th place in Milan-Sanremo – admitting afterwards suffer from a fractured fibula.
Add to that extra-sporting problems with the very limited remarks of his boss Patrick Lefevere and the spring of the double world champion turned into a nightmare.
A first in a French team
At the end of the contract, the chance is now slim to see Julian Alaphilippe extend his contract with the Wolfpack. Patrick Lefevere himself makes no secret of it, he who knows better than anyone how to manage his budget.
At almost 32 years old, and after three very difficult years, Alaphilippe certainly needs a change of scenery, having always ridden in the colors of the Quick-Step team since his professional debut in 2014. He also knows that it is undoubtedly his last chance to land a big contract.
In recent weeks, two French teams have detached themselves to enlist the services of the one who has carried the colors of France very high for many years: Cofidis and TotalEnergies. The fact that the best French rider of the last decade has never ridden for a French team is seen as an anomaly among our neighbors across Quiévrain.
Julian Alaphilippe: “When we have something to say with Patrick Lefevere, we call each other”
Negotiations began with TotalEnergies
The interest from these two teams is not entirely new. Last fall, Patrick Pouyamé, CEO of the TotalEnergies group, had already expressed his interest for the darling of the French public.
More recently, TotalEnergies team boss Jean-René Bernaudeau took action. “We met him with Benoît Genauzeau last week, we do our job, we discuss with him, as with others to move our project forward”explained the former wearer of the yellow jersey to our colleagues from Ouest-France.
“Negotiations have begun”added Bernaudeau who wants to make Alaphilippe his figurehead in the years to come, “I like his state of mind, his desire, he doesn't make noise, works a lot, he is disappointed to have had this fibula injury which did not allow him to express himself as he would have wanted during at the start of the season.”
In the other camp, we are also active. It is undoubtedly no coincidence that sponsor Cofidis announced this Friday that it will continue its partnership with the cycling team at least until the end of the 2028 season. While showing itself to be increasingly ambitious on the sporting and financial plan: “Cofidis hopes that the men's team can get closer to the 'top 10' in the UCI World Tour rankings (…) Everything will be done to have the appropriate means to be able to shine in a very competitive context.”
Slight advantage for Cofidis?
If the salary offers should be similar from the two teams, Cofidis seems to have a slight advantage on a sporting level compared to its competitor. Indeed, the team led by Cédric Vasseur has a WorldTour license, offering it an automatic invitation to all the biggest races on the planet.
A strong argument to attract the former winner of Milan-Sanremo, especially since TotalEnergies is not one of the three best ProTeams (division 2 of cycling), and is subject to the goodwill of the organizers to be invited to the big events.
This season, for example, she was not invited on the Italian classics as well as on most of the Flemish classics. If, thanks to her nationality, she was able to participate in Paris-Roubaix and will be at the start of the Tour de France, she was also not invited to the Giro and the Vuelta.
