Alaphilippe signs with Tudor Pro Cycling and Contador explains his "divorce" from Soudal-QuickStep

Julian Alaphilippe's departure from the Soudal-QuickStep structure is confirmed after a last year of increasing tensions with the peculiar manager of the Belgian team, Patrick Lefevere, who even went so far as to insinuate that the cyclist's partner, also former rider Marion Rousse, now director of the women's Tour de France, would be the cause of Alaphilippe's poor performance in recent times. As we reported a few days ago, Tudor Pro Cycling will be the team that will have the services of the Frenchman from the next season.

Julian Alaphilippe leaves Soudal-QuickStep, his lifelong team

Despite having developed his entire career in the Soudal-QuickStep structure of Patrick Lefevere, the lack of harmony between the veteran Belgian director and Julian Alaphilippe has been growing in recent years, during which the Frenchman has experienced a decline in his performance. The straw that broke the camel's back in this turbulent relationship were the statements made by Lefevere a few months ago in which he clearly insinuated that the culprit for Alaphilippe's poor performance would be his partner Marion Rousse.

However, after the divorce between Alaphilippe and Lefevere, there seems to be an economic background that was perfectly explained by former cyclist Alberto Contador, now a commentator on Eurosport broadcasts, who recounted how he suffered exactly the same during his time at the Tinkoff team.

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Contador speaks of an intentional strategy by Lefevere to lower the market price of the cyclist in search of a lower renewal. In fact, in some of his inflammatory statements, Lefevere also mentioned that Alaphilippe's salary did not correspond to the performance he had been giving in recent times, a salary that, on the other hand, the Frenchman had earned handsomely after the renewals signed following his second consecutive World Championship.

After weighing his options, Julian Alaphilippe has chosen to accept the offer from Tudor Pro Cycling, a young team on a clear path of growth. "I want to play my role as a leader, to guide the young riders, even though I'm not very old yet. But I have a lot of experience and that can be important for the young riders on the team. It is a great motivation to contribute what I know and my way of being on and off the bike," said the cyclist after his official signing was announced, influenced by the fact that Alaphilippe knows several cyclists who are members of the staff.

A Tudor Pro Cycling that is strengthening significantly for 2025, as in addition to incorporating Julian Alaphilippe, they have also announced the signing of Marc Hirchi, seeking to maximize their chances of moving up to the World Tour, as let's not forget, a new cycle of validity of the licenses of the top category ends next year and, at the moment, Tudor Pro Cycling is ranked as the fourth best team in the Pro Tour category after Uno-X Mobility, which is currently in the last position that would grant a World Tour spot, and far behind Israel-PremierTech and Lotto-Dstny, who enjoy a comfortable position in the ranking and unless there is a disaster, will be World Tour teams in the next cycle.