Julian Alaphilippe returns to the Tour Down Under in 2024

Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) has announced he will start his season at the Tour Down Under in 2024.

The Frenchman, who is building towards a peak for the spring classics, will be starting the race for the first time since 2014. For Alaphilippe, returning to the race will be special since it was the first WorldTour stage race of his now illustrious career.

“I am very happy to be returning to Australia to take part in the Santos Tour Down Under, my first ever WorldTour race in 2014,” Alaphilippe said in a press release.

“There are many undulating roads and tough climbs throughout various stages of this race, but I’m particularly excited to revisit Willunga Hill along with Mount Lofty for the first time, as I believe both will provide great opportunities for our team to finish strong.”

Alaphilippe will be looking to hit the ground running in Australia to get in form for what is slated to be a busy spring campaign.

Later in the year, Alaphilippe has stated that he will race Strade Bianche, Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, aiming to repeat his feat of winning the former two in 2019 and avenging his 2020 crash at the latter.

For the Australian race, Alaphilippe will come with some expectation that he will perform on a course that, on paper, suits his strengths quite well.

“I expect Alaphilippe to do very well in the hardest final weekend of TDU racing history, especially as someone who’s won the Tour de France King of the Mountain classification and wore the most prestigious yellow jersey for 18 days in his highly successful career,” Stuart O’Grady, the race director for the Tour Down Under, said.

“He is a true champion of our sport and a born entertainer on a bike. We can’t wait for him to race in Australia’s greatest cycling race.”

While the Tour Down Under is still 43 days away, the names that will be competing at the race have started to trickle out, with more expected over the coming weeks.

To stay up to date will all the news about the season opener, be sure to check out our dedicated race page here.