With less than a week until Paris-Nice (open in new tab), Julien Alaphilippe (open in new tab) admitted he is behind schedule for his first major goal of the 2020 season.

The Deceuninck-QuickStep rider returned to racing after the Tour Colombia 2.1 weekend and headed to southeastern France for two one-day races, but struggled to be competitive on both days.

On Saturday, Alaphilippe competed in the Von Ardèche Classic, but retired early as teammate Remi Cabaña won the race solo. On Sunday, he finished 17th in the Royal Bernard Lome Classic, 2:17 behind winner Simon Clark (EF Pro Cycling).

"I am exhausted, and the rain is partly to blame," Alaphilippe told l'Equipe after the 203km hilly race, which took place in bad weather.

"I'm not in great shape," he said. I'm not in great shape right now. The team did 60 kilometers. That's the reality."

The 2020 season has only just begun, but Alaphilippe has three wins in the Vuelta a San Juan and Tour Colombia 2.1, finishing second overall in the latter. He then won Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo, and La Flèche Wallonne, and led the race for 14 days at the Tour de France.

Alaphilippe's best result to date was third place on stage 4 in Colombia, where he was forced to abandon the Vuelta a San Juan due to stomach problems.

Davide Bramati of Deceuninck-QuickStep said the Frenchman was also disappointed with the weekend's race results.

"Julien is disappointed because he wanted to win," Bramati told l'Equipe. 'But then the rain came and his legs went stiff.'

"He raced well for two days and here [Sunday] he had one or two attacks. Let's calm down. He still has a week from Paris to Nice."

Alaphilippe was scheduled to reconsider the final three stages of the French race this week. However, after a weekend of hardship, his run was postponed.

"I'm going to postpone it," he said. I need to recover."

After Paris-Nice, Alaphilippe will defend his title in Milan-San Remo, then head to Belgium for the Doire de Flenderen, his Tour of Flanders debut, and a full week in the Ardennes.

Later in the year, a return to the Tour de France awaits before the Tokyo Olympics, but he has said that a challenge for the overall classification in France is unlikely.