Julien Alaphilippe was named L'Équipe's "Champion of Champions" for the third year in a row after holding the stunning rainbow jersey at the World Championships in Leuven.

To celebrate this award, the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl rider participated in a joint interview with Bernard Hinault (opens in new tab) and the topic inevitably turned to the Tour de France, where Alaphilippe wore the yellow jersey for two weeks before He finished fifth overall.

Alaphilippe has worn yellow in the last two Tours, winning the opening stage, but despite his remarkable 2019, he was reluctant to actively challenge for the overall classification.

Inaud suggested that Alaphilippe needed to be sure of his form, as it would be a "big risk" to target the Tour, and the world champion agreed with that assessment.

"That's a perfect summary," Alaphilippe said. Alaphilippe said. "There is no need to risk interrupting the season for a single goal. You can't plan anything in the Tour."

Alaphilippe also acknowledged that the lie of the land has changed since his remarkable and unexpected adventure in the 2019 Tour, with the arrival of Tadej Pogachar and a new generation of talent.

"It's going to happen. I still have motivation for the Tour de France, but I'm almost 30 years old. Now you have 22-year-olds on the podium in the first three weeks of racing and riders like Pogachar who are always winning everywhere," Alaphilippe said.

"I'm not going to compare myself to them. I just want to build the best career I can. People forget how difficult it is to win even one stage in a Grand Tour. The overall level is very high. Half of the peloton spends the season at altitude. At the start of any race, it's a battle. I just concentrate on doing my best and try not to spoil the notion of joy because it is only a sport. I always want to do better and that is normal.

Inaud, the last Frenchman to win the Tour in 1985, has not always been generous in his assessment of the generation that followed him, but he was encouraging of Alaphilippe and his aggressive racing style.

"Of course, we are similar. In the modern peloton, you are one of those rare riders who are ambitious, who don't think, who go in at the slightest opening," Inaud told Alaphilippe. 'You, Mathieu [van der Pol], Remco [Even Paul], you are making such a difference. For a long time, the big teams dominated, and other teams were not allowed to move. You guys decided to change that.

Alaphilippe has not yet outlined his full race program for 2022, but he has already confirmed that he will skip the cobbled classics to concentrate on the Ardennes; he does not want to think about a third consecutive win yet, but the Tour, like the World Championships, will once again be on his Tour will once again be on his schedule, as will the World Championships.

"At the team training camp, I asked the guys, 'Have you seen the World Championships course? I told them: two seconds. We haven't digested the last title yet. There are other races to win before that," Alaphilippe said.

"There is no denying that the mental part is very big. To win a race you have to be willing to suffer, and to accomplish great things you have to be able to dig deep into the pain. You have to be a masochist to ride a bike, and it's such a difficult sport. Someone who says they don't like pain is not going to have a good career. You can train hard, but to go further, to push your limits, the psychological aspect is a big part of it. Everyone is practicing hard now, and all the teams are at the top of their game. It's the head that makes the difference."