Julien Alaphilippe will return to competition for the first time since his crash in Liège-Bastogne-Liège and will compete in the French championship road race in Chorée on Sunday.

Quick-Step Alphavinil's spot in the Tour de France has not yet been confirmed, but his appearance this weekend will likely boost his chances of making it to Copenhagen on July 1. 3]

The world champion suffered two ribs, a fractured scapula, and a punctured lung in a group crash before the Col du Rosier in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Romain Bardet scrambled up a grassy bank after the crash to help Alaphilippe.

Alaphilippe's rehabilitation was completed in late May when he joined the Quick Step Alpha Vinyl team at a training camp in the Sierra Nevada and returned to training on the road. When he joined his teammates, Alaphilippe expressed his desire to compete in the Tour.

"If everything continues as it is, the Tour de France is still an option. But it's really important not to rush anything, to be patient, to keep talking to the medical team, to take their advice and decide when I can return to racing."

Alaphilippe has won stages in each of the last four Tours and has worn the yellow jersey in the last three events. His best Tour was in 2019, when he wore the maillot jaune for two weeks, won two stages, and finished fifth overall in Paris.

Despite bringing the yellow jersey into the final three days of that Tour, Alaphilippe has since avoided focusing on winning the overall and has preferred to go for stage wins.

Alaphilippe will be racing the French championship road race alongside Quick-Step teammates Remi Cavagna and Florian Seneschal. Cavagna will also compete in the time trial on Thursday.

Caspar Asgreen will miss this week's Danish championships after a crash forced him to abandon the Tour de Suisse.

"I am currently undergoing tests, but everything seems to be fine. As soon as the worst of the pain is gone I can resume cycling on the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th. I haven't ridden my bike yet, but I should be able to soon."

Asgreen's compatriot Michal Morkov will compete in the Danish championships, while Fabio Jacobsen, whom he expects to lead in the Tour next month, will compete in the Dutch championships on Sunday.

Lemko Evenpoel, who will skip the Tour de France and concentrate on the Vuelta a España, will lead the Quick Step group in the Belgian championships.