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Julian Alaphilippe on the Curse of the Rainbow Jersey and Other Cool News from the World of Cycling

By Monica Buck

Another Monday is here, and so is our news from the world of cycling. So, what did you miss?

The Frenchman launches a book

Julian Alaphilippe, the two-time road world champion put out a new book called Julian. It tracks a year in his life since winning the first of his rainbow jerseys in 2021 and talks in detail about what effect the win had on him.

“The rainbow jersey makes people make mistakes,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “I had to learn to ride with that jersey, I had to learn to wear the jersey. My biggest mistake? My loss in Liège-Bastogne-Liège, without a doubt. I wanted to make that jersey shine too much and that’s why I made a mistake. You don’t want to disappoint anyone with a jersey like this: not the fans, not the team and not even myself. I hope I don’t make those mistakes again next year and that I can do my thing again next season without complexes: make the race and win.”

Alaphilippe sees the Liège-Bastogne-Liège loss as his biggest mistake. © Profimedia

Alaphilippe went through a lot on and off bike as well. He welcomed his first son into the world and had to part with his late father.

“The book is about one year in my career, but not just any year. It has been a year full of emotions, both professionally and privately. Enough to write a book about it, I thought. The memories, the images… I wanted to share this with my fans. I tried to talk as openly as possible about that year.

“Because there were so many emotions: the world titles, of course, but a lot was also happening in my private life. I thought that should also be in the book. All those conversations came naturally.”

The tutu though

A lot

That‘s not right

True love