Julien Alaphilippe has taken a different path to the 2024 Paris Olympics than the other leading men's road race riders, but the Frenchman was confident in his comments at a press conference on Thursday.

While Mathieu van der Pol, Remco Evenpol, and Wout van Aert all had success in July's Tour de France, Alaphilippe has stage wins in the Tour of Slovakia and the Czech Tour to prepare for the Olympics to be held in his home country ...

Alaphilippe's stunning stage win at the Giro in May had led to speculation that he would be used to support Evenpoel at the Tour, but Soudal-Quick Step manager Patrick Lefebvre quickly assured the team that he would be ready for the Olympics as originally planned He confirmed that he would have the team prepare for the Olympics as originally planned.

According to L'Équipe, "I feel good and I'm motivated," Alaphilippe said. But honestly, I don't think about that. I am here to do my best for the French team. That is a goal that is close to my heart.

Alaphilippe came close to a medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, but fell on the infamous Vista Chinesa downhill in the finale and finished fourth; three years ago, Alaphilippe decided not to compete at the Tokyo Olympics due to the birth of his son.

"The Games can't just be an old objective," Alaphilippe said. We have seen over the years that the Olympics have become a more important goal and that the level is getting higher all the time"

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"I made the decision not to go to Tokyo because of the birth of my son, but at that time I had already said I wanted to go to Paris. I had been thinking about it for a long time and had been preparing for it."

Then in 2021, Alaphilippe won his second consecutive world title in Leuven, but he never climbed to such heights again. A major crash in Liège-Bastogne-Liège the following year was a major obstacle, and he struggled from 2023 to this year.

However, his victory in the Giro was a turning point.

"For the first time in over two years, I would say we had a really good winter," his cousin and coach Frank Alaphilippe recently told Cycling News.

Alaphilippe was one of the riders who had the chance to scout the Montmartre finishing circuit on Thursday, convincing Van der Pol to forgo the opportunity to train outside Paris, despite his limited speed.

France has had a remarkable Olympic Games in a variety of sports, with Pauline Ferrand-Prevot winning gold in mountain biking, Leon Marchand shining in the pool, and Antoine Dupont leading his rugby sevens team to victory. He has enjoyed them. Alaphilippe has a quiet hope of joining the gold rush.

"Everyone is making a lot of noise," he says. Even though I'm focused on my own race, it doesn't stop me from following what's going on at the Olympics."

Alaphilippe's French teammates Christophe Laporte, Kevan Vaquelin, and Valentin Madouas competed in the Tour in July, but it seems clear that the two-time world champion will be the complete leader of Thomas Voeckler's quartet.

"I'm the only rider on the French team who hasn't ridden the Tour, so I'll have a different approach than my colleagues, but I don't think either of us is better or worse," Alaphilippe said.

"I came back from the Czech Tour in good form. The race in the Czech Republic was important to finish my preparation. I did everything I could to prepare well and now I just have to give it my all on Saturday."

"The reality is that I am being presented as an outsider. I've had a better season than the last few years, but it's not a boom. "

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