Julian Alaphilippe warns cycling is losing its soul
Between 2018 and 2021, French rider Julian Alaphilippe was a dominant force in the sport, collecting big one day wins, Tour de France stages and two World Championships with a style that rarely looked like it had been designed in a lab. The sport he now rides in is far more structured and measurable, and at 33 Alaphilippe is increasingly outspoken about what gets lost when racing becomes easier to quantify than to feel.
He made the point in a conversation on Sigma Sports Unplugged with Matt Stephens, where he drew a clear line between using data and living by it.
“Sometimes I feel that is a bit sad, because when I talk with some guys, they don’t dream about winning races anymore. They’re just happy because they have a good five minute test, because they have good numbers.”
The line is simple, but it lands as a clear divide: racing to win versus racing to confirm the spreadsheet.
Alaphilippe is not pretending the old world still exists. He understands why young riders cling to structure, because the sport offers fewer chances and harsher judgement. But he also insists that numbers should sit behind the eyes, not in front of them.
“I know I’m really far to be the best. I’m not a machine,” he says, before explaining why he still believes he can beat riders who look superior on paper. “I know when I’m on a good shape and when I feel good, and I can play with my legs and my instinct, I can be part of this.”
He worries that younger riders are learning to outsource that feeling. “I see some people, they cannot go on a bike if they don’t have all these computers,” he says.
And he describes what gets lost when the screen becomes the experience. “If you only sit and watch the numbers, the program, the computer, and you don’t look at the trees around, the sky, even if it’s grey, you don’t care because you’re looking at your power meter. That’s a bit sad, and you lose the pleasure of just being a cyclist.”
It is not just a romantic point. For him, that pleasure and awareness are part of performance, because they keep a rider connected to the craft rather than trapped inside a routine.
That Québec win in 2025 was his first big one for Tudor, and it looked like him again. Not careful, not tidy, just decisive. Because, as he puts it, “Where you make the difference is in your head, when you really dream so bad about something.”
Last week, Alaphilippe confirmed his 2026 programme: Algarve first, then Strade Bianche, Tirreno Adriatico and Milan San Remo, followed by Itzulia and a full Ardennes block. From there, the Tour de France is back on the agenda, with the World Championships in Montreal later in the season as another clear target.
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