Julian Alaphilippe was one of the favourites to win Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2022. He suffered a pneumothorax, a fracture to a shoulder blade and several broken sides.
The 30-year-old is determined to attack 2023 with the knife between his teeth. But the general manager of the Soudal-Quick Step team, Patrick Lefevere, has been distilling acerbic words about the Frenchman. "I like him, like everyone else. But I have to be realistic," he said.