Alaphilippe's Retirement Closes a Chapter for Italian Cycling Fans

Julian Alaphilippe, the two-time world champion and one of the most recognisable figures in modern cycling, has announced his retirement at the age of 34, Le Monde reported on Friday. The French rider leaves the sport after more than a decade in the professional peloton, with 45 victories to his name, including six Tour de France stage wins and a Milan-San Remo title.

For Italian cycling fans, Alaphilippe's career carries special significance. His victory at Milan-San Remo — one of cycling's five 'Monuments' and a race that finishes on the Ligurian coast — placed him among the sport's elite. But it is his performances in the high mountains that have endeared him to the tifosi who line the passes of the Alps and Dolomites each summer.

The Valle d'Aosta has a particular place in that story. The region's climbs — the Col du Grand-Saint-Bernard, the Colle del Piccolo San Bernardo, the Passo del Monte Bianco — have featured in the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, and it was on such terrain that Alaphilippe built his reputation as a fearless attacker.