Marion Rousse does not want her son to follow the traces of Julian Alaphilippe in cycling. She wants him to find his own way, far from comparisons and pressure.
The Tour de France 2025 began on Saturday in Lille, with a first step already rich in twists and turns. Jasper Philipsen won the sprint, while several favorites, including Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe, lost precious time in the borders. The Frenchman, now under the colors of Tudor, conceded 6 minutes and 31 seconds on the line.
In an interview with
TV 7 daysMarion Rousse lifted the veil on her companion’s true ambitions. “When Julian aligns on the Tour, it is to target stages victories and wear the yellow jersey for a few days. He is a panache runner, that the public is always happy to find ”she said. Without a regular leader for the general classification at Tudor, Alaphilippe benefits from total freedom to carry out his own strategy.
And this freedom, he intends to exploit it in the first week. According to Marion Rousse, the tricolor punker has meticulously prepared the start of this tour: “He checked this first week, by going to spot the northern stages, where he intends to perform”she says. Patters and tracking conditions which could suit perfectly the offensive style of the old yellow jersey.
Marion Rousse fears comparisons
Parents of a small nino, born in 2021, Marion Rousse and Julian Alaphilippe are already considering the sporting future of their son. “He walked at the age of 7 months, and he has been able to cycle for a very long time! For me, sport is the best school in life. But it would help me that he chooses another discipline than cycling: it would avoid comparisons from him ”says Marion, mixing tenderness and realism.
At 33, Julian Alaphilippe competes his seventh Tour de France. He has six stages victories to his credit and wore the yellow jersey for 18 days, especially during the 2019 edition, where he had run the public until the last kilometers.