Julian Alaphilippe ends season and skips Il Lombardia

Julian Alaphilippe has ended his season and will miss the final Monument of the season, Il Lombardia.

The French star has ridden a phenomenal 2019, which includes major Classics victories, Tour de France stages and a two-week spell in the yellow jersey.

But after competing at his best for much of the season, Alaphilippe has confirmed he will not be racing Milano-Torino or Il Lombardia, bringing “a year he will never forget” to a close.

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The 27-year-old said: “I am really sad to say that I will not be racing Milano-Torino and Il Lombardia this week and that my incredible 2019 season has come to an end.

“You know that I always give everything and have done ever since my year started in Argentina.

“2019 is a year that I will never forget and I want to thank my team, the management, the staff, my family and everyone who has supported me throughout this truly spectacular season.

“I can’t put into words how special it was to share all these beautiful moments with you.”

The Deceuninck – Quick-Step all-rounder opened his winning run at the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina in January, where he took two stages.

His remarkable run of results continued with wins at Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico and Flèche Wallonne, alongside his first Monument victory, Milan-San Remo.

Alaphilippe then took another step up at the Tour, where he won two stages, including the Pau individual time trial on stage 13, and led the race for two weeks, coming within two days of overall victory and eventually finishing fifth.

After a long rest from racing in August, he returned to racing to find form for the Yorkshire 2019 World Championships.

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But the rainbow bands eluded Alaphilippe, who finished 28th more than six hours racing in torrential downpours.

He said: “I’ve worked really hard to try and be at my peak for a third time this year, having raced hard at the Classics and the Tour, but I knew at the Worlds that my form is short of where I would like to be.

“I really wanted to be with the guys in Italy and give my all for the team, but as I can’t do that, it makes sense that I start my post-season recovery now, in order to be in the best possible shape for the start of next year.”