Greig Leach

Every athlete, everyone plans on how they will achieve a goal. Few rarely execute that plan as brilliantly as Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) did today. The Frenchman took the first stage that ended the day in France, and did so in a solo run into Epernay. With the amount of time he took out of the rest of the peloton, he will also be the first Frenchman to wear the Maillot Juane in the 2019 Tour de France. He is also the only Frenchman to win a stage thus far. Alaphilippe was considered the odds on favorite for the stage, but as we have already learn in the first two stages of this Tour, that doesn't mean much. Today, it did!