This spring saw Julian Alaphilippe secure the breakthrough Classics victory he´s long been promising, scoring a major scalp over Alejandro Valverde on the Mur de Huy to end the Spaniard´s four-year winning streak at Flèche Wallonne. Buy the digital edition for £2.99, or subscribe for £28 Procycling sat down with the energetic Frenchman, and our new cover star, days after his victory to talk about his path to the top. Along the way, the Quick-Step Floors rider enjoyed a stint working as a mechanic, a year plying his trade with an amateur squad run by the French army and has a penchant for playing the drums.ADVERTISEMENT `It´s taken me time to realise I have to stay calm, and that´s helped me get better,` Alaphilippe told us. `But I´ve also learned that staying calm for too long costs me more energy than it would do if I was just letting off steam.` From one Frenchman on a high to another who has endured a difficult 2018, Nacer Bouhanni tends to generate as many headlines for his off-the-bike behaviour as he does for his wins. The hot-headed sprinter has been in the spotlight again this year, as he´s struggled for form and abandoned four races this spring, while there are murmurings of clashes between him and those inside the Cofidis team. Daniel Friebe looks back over Bouhanni´s career to try and untangle his enigma. Subscribe to Procycling here.
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