Yahoo News Tour de France 2019: Julian Alaphilippe would be one of the greatest winners of all time, says Dave Brailsford
![Sir Dave Brailsford has hailed the astonishing Tour de France performances of the man in the yellow jersey, Julian Alaphilippe, and said he would be one of the greatest winners of all time should he still be wearing the maillot jaune in Paris on Sunday.Alaphiphilippe, a one-day classics expert who has never contested a Grand Tour general classification before, confounded expert predictions by winning the individual time-trial around Pau last week to extend his overall advantage before seeing his lead eroded in the Pyrenees, but he remains more than a minute clear of his nearest challenger, the reigning champion Geraint Thomas.Speaking on the final rest day at Team Ineos’s hotel in Nimes ahead of the race’s finale the Alps, general manager Brailsford said: “You’ve gotta give the fella some credit. If he pulls it of he’s on another level. If he was to win then blimey, hats off to him, he’s one of the greatest cyclist’s of all time.”The Tour has produced some entertaining racing as the big GC riders have tried to take time from Alaphilippe, with an array of contenders and no single outstanding team, giving the race a more unpredictable feel to previous years when Team Ineos – then Sky – were constantly at the helm.“We’re not parking the bus this time,” Brailsford said. “I am [enjoying it], yeah. It’s more like track racing. It reminds me of the days sitting in the corner with Shane [Sutton while at British Cycling], who's genius tactically, and thinking right, this is how we’re going to win it. Which is why I really like the sport, if I’m honest. It’s nice to pit our wits against the opposition, as well as physically.“It’s way more exciting. It’s like chess. We’ve sat here many times and people have said ‘You’ve closed the race down, it’s not very exciting’. This is one of the most exciting for a long time. It has the suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen.”Thomas dismissed any suggestions that Ineos’s lack of control of the race shows they are a weaker team this year.“Egan [Bernal, his Ineos co-leader] is fifth, I’m second. We’re doing pretty well. We’re not in yellow and not the front all day. There’s more than one way to win a Tour. We’re in a super strong position.”](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/1ec4aET42YD3TR5a_mVE5Q--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_independent_577/7b454677fc18cbda0a3e29d48dbe5be1)
![Sir Dave Brailsford has hailed the astonishing Tour de France performances of the man in the yellow jersey, Julian Alaphilippe, and said he would be one of the greatest winners of all time should he still be wearing the maillot jaune in Paris on Sunday.Alaphiphilippe, a one-day classics expert who has never contested a Grand Tour general classification before, confounded expert predictions by winning the individual time-trial around Pau last week to extend his overall advantage before seeing his lead eroded in the Pyrenees, but he remains more than a minute clear of his nearest challenger, the reigning champion Geraint Thomas.Speaking on the final rest day at Team Ineos’s hotel in Nimes ahead of the race’s finale the Alps, general manager Brailsford said: “You’ve gotta give the fella some credit. If he pulls it of he’s on another level. If he was to win then blimey, hats off to him, he’s one of the greatest cyclist’s of all time.”The Tour has produced some entertaining racing as the big GC riders have tried to take time from Alaphilippe, with an array of contenders and no single outstanding team, giving the race a more unpredictable feel to previous years when Team Ineos – then Sky – were constantly at the helm.“We’re not parking the bus this time,” Brailsford said. “I am [enjoying it], yeah. It’s more like track racing. It reminds me of the days sitting in the corner with Shane [Sutton while at British Cycling], who's genius tactically, and thinking right, this is how we’re going to win it. Which is why I really like the sport, if I’m honest. It’s nice to pit our wits against the opposition, as well as physically.“It’s way more exciting. It’s like chess. We’ve sat here many times and people have said ‘You’ve closed the race down, it’s not very exciting’. This is one of the most exciting for a long time. It has the suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen.”Thomas dismissed any suggestions that Ineos’s lack of control of the race shows they are a weaker team this year.“Egan [Bernal, his Ineos co-leader] is fifth, I’m second. We’re doing pretty well. We’re not in yellow and not the front all day. There’s more than one way to win a Tour. We’re in a super strong position.”](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/JeENsPVRXNjEdUuFyBjbFg--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_independent_577/abe42ccfe9dbd983463a256a1a538981)
Sir Dave Brailsford has hailed the astonishing Tour de France performances of the man in the yellow jersey, Julian Alaphilippe, and said he would be one of the greatest winners of all time should he still be wearing the maillot jaune in Paris on Sunday.
Alaphiphilippe, a one-day classics expert who has never contested a Grand Tour general classification before, confounded expert predictions by winning the individual time-trial around Pau last week to extend his overall advantage before seeing his lead eroded in the Pyrenees, but he remains more than a minute clear of his nearest challenger, the reigning champion Geraint Thomas.
Speaking on the final rest day at Team Ineos’s hotel in Nimes ahead of the race’s finale the Alps, general manager Brailsford said: “You’ve gotta give the fella some credit. If he pulls it of he’s on another level. If he was to win then blimey, hats off to him, he’s one of the greatest cyclist’s of all time.”
The Tour has produced some entertaining racing as the big GC riders have tried to take time from Alaphilippe, with an array of contenders and no single outstanding team, giving the race a more unpredictable feel to previous years when Team Ineos – then Sky – were constantly at the helm.
“We’re not parking the bus this time,” Brailsford said. “I am [enjoying it], yeah. It’s more like track racing. It reminds me of the days sitting in the corner with Shane [Sutton while at British Cycling], who's genius tactically, and thinking right, this is how we’re going to win it. Which is why I really like the sport, if I’m honest. It’s nice to pit our wits against the opposition, as well as physically.
“It’s way more exciting. It’s like chess. We’ve sat here many times and people have said ‘You’ve closed the race down, it’s not very exciting’. This is one of the most exciting for a long time. It has the suspense of not knowing what’s going to happen.”
Thomas dismissed any suggestions that Ineos’s lack of control of the race shows they are a weaker team this year.
“Egan [Bernal, his Ineos co-leader] is fifth, I’m second. We’re doing pretty well. We’re not in yellow and not the front all day. There’s more than one way to win a Tour. We’re in a super strong position.”
