Away from his family during the three weeks of the Tour of Italy, Julian Alaphilippe saw Marion Rousse reach Rome on Saturday to find him.
Julian Alaphilippe won his bet. As during the last Tour de France, the Quick-Step rider increased his attacks. But this time, the Frenchman had the legs to go all the way. If he had to settle for second place behind Pelayo Sanchez during the 6th stage, he in fact raised his arms a week later during the 12th stage, winning in Fano, on the edge of the Adriatic, at the end of an incredible ride of 126 kilometers.
In addition to becoming the 108th rider in history to win a stage on each of the three grand tours, Julian Alaphilippe offered himself a magnificent revenge after two years of struggle, silencing the criticism towards him. And if the native of Saint-Amand-Montrond simply expressed his happiness on arrival, Marion Rousse, his companion, did not fail to send a message to his detractors. “Blah blah blah blah”she wrote on Instagram before explaining in the columns of The Team that these two years of hardship had deeply marked him.
Marion Rousse and Julian Alaphilippe separated again
But this time, the smiles are back and Marion Rousse, after almost a month of separation, took care to go to Rome this weekend to be at the finish of the Tour of Italy on Sunday. “Buongiorno Roma,” she wrote in an Instagram post on the eve of the final stage through the Roman streets. An escapade that looks like a break for the former runner, who has indeed multiplied media meetings and public interventions in recent days in the costume of director of the Tour de France Femmes.
And the reunion will be short-lived for Julian Alaphilippe and Marion Rousse since the Northerner will be in Ardèche next weekend for the Critérium du Dauphiné. A race that she will follow in the commentary booth alongside Laurent Jalabert and Nicolas Geay for France Télévisions.
