Julian Alaphilippe’s dad dies after long illness

Julian Alaphilippe’s dad has died after suffering from a long illness.

Jacques Alaphilippe, known as Jo, had been ill for a number of years but on Sunday (June 28) news emerged that he had passed away.

The former musician is father to Julian, Bryan who rides for French team St Michel-Auber 93 and younger brother Leo.

He is also uncle to Quick-Step coach and Julian’s trainer Franck Alaphilippe.

Julian’s team, Deceuninck – Quick-Step, said: “We are very sad to hear of the passing of Jo Alaphilippe, father to Julian and uncle to Franck Alaphilippe.

“The thoughts of Deceuninck – Quick-Step family are with them.

“While thanking you for your support, we would like all to respect their wish for privacy at this difficult time.”

Jo Alaphilippe, a former orchestra conductor, had been able to visit the Tour de France last year to watch his son’s staggering performance in the race, despite being confined to a wheelchair.

It was a momentous race for Julian, who won two stages of the 2019 Tour wore the yellow jersey for two weeks, coming within days of winning the general classification before he slipped back to fifth place overall.

Father and son were able to celebrate his phenomenal ride in Paris after the final stage.

Alaphilippe was then crowned best rider of the year at Velo d’Or 2019, having also won Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, Flèche Wallonne, and stages of Tirreno-Adriatico and the Critérium du Dauphiné.

This season, Julian is expected to return to the Tour in search of more stage victories but says he doesn’t currently have plans to become an overall contender.

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He said: “I won’t go for the general classification, as next season I will have other goals.

“I will study the parcours in detail together with the team, but what I can already say is that it’s one of the toughest editions in recent years.”