Julian Alaphilippe retires with immediate effect: the two-time world champion ends his career at the age of 34

Julian Alaphilippe has decided to put an immediate end to his career as a professional cyclist. At 34 years old, the Frenchman, a two-time world champion and one of the riders who has most influenced cycling in the last decade, will not compete again and will forfeit the last year of the contract that linked him to Tudor Pro Cycling until the end of 2027.

Julian Alaphilippe ends his career at 34 years old

The news was initially reported by WielerFlits and later confirmed by L'Équipe, which states that Alaphilippe has made the decision to retire with immediate effect. Thus, he will not compete in any of the races he still had planned for this season, including the Grand Prix of Quebec and Montreal.

Tudor Pro Cycling has not yet officially announced the retirement of their rider, but according to reports published in France, Alaphilippe has decided to terminate the year of contract he still had ahead.

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In this way, the 2026 Tour de France will have been the last professional race of Julian Alaphilippe. A farewell that, in reality, the cyclist himself had begun to hint at during the Grande Boucle.

After completing the demanding stage 20 finishing in Alpe d'Huez, where he arrived more than 25 minutes behind the winner Richard Carapaz, the Frenchman acknowledged that this could be his last Tour. Alaphilippe then explained that he had tried to enjoy the race to the fullest and that, despite not achieving the results he was looking for, he was leaving with the feeling of having given it his all.

The Tour ended a few days later in Paris and now it seems that final day was also the last time Alaphilippe wore a race number.

An ending that had been hinted at for some time

The retirement comes after a particularly complicated season. Alaphilippe had barely achieved notable results in 2026 and accumulated several withdrawals during the spring, including those from the Amstel Gold Race and Fleche Wallonne, precisely two events particularly linked to his best years.

The change from Quick-Step to Tudor, made in 2025 after spending almost his entire professional career within the structure led for years by Patrick Lefevere, had opened a new chapter. The Frenchman was looking to regain sensations and fight for major victories away from the team where he became one of the biggest stars of the peloton.

And during his first season with Tudor, there were positive signs. He came close to several important results and eventually found victory at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Québec 2025. Unless there is any change in his decision, that will remain as the last of his 45 victories as a professional.

But 2026 was different. The results stopped coming and during the Tour it became evident that Alaphilippe could no longer have the prominence that had characterized much of his career. According to reports published about his retirement, after returning home he also failed to regain the necessary motivation to face another part of the season and, much less, another year as a professional.

The final part of his career was far from his best years, but Julian Alaphilippe's palmarès places him among the most important cyclists of his generation.

He leaves with 45 professional victories, two rainbow jerseys, six Tour stages, three Fleche Wallonnes, one Milan-San Remo, one Strade Bianche, and one Classic of San Sebastián, among many other results. But, above all, one of the cyclists who for years made attacking and uncertainty his main way of understanding races is retiring.