You gotta feel for Julian Alaphilippe after stage 15 of the Tour de France.
The out-of-form French veteran found his best legs in months and even fixed his own dislocated shoulder to cross the line third behind stage-winner Tim Wellens.
Only LuLu thought he won on Sunday.
He raised his arms in delight at his “first Tour win in four years” for a finish-line photo that won’t make his post-career annual.
“I remembered how they did it in the hospital and I managed to put the [dislocated shoulder] back,” Alaphilippe said after the stage Sunday.
“Unfortunately the radio didn’t work after my crash. Like an idiot, I sprinted to try and win … et voilà.”
Looking at the photo, you’d think Wout finished second. In reality, he came in fourth today.
The rider who did take second was Victor, delivering another strong performance but just missing out on the win. ✌ pic.twitter.com/ThNHpDROyI
— Team Visma | Lease a Bike (@vismaleaseabike) July 20, 2025
Alaphilippe’s crazy Sunday at the Tour began when he was caught in a huge pileup in the first hour of racing.
The great French favorite dislocated his shoulder in the crash and managed to pop it back into place. But there was no such luck fixing a busted radio.
‘What can we do?’
Alaphilippe was forced to race “blind” after the pileup.
Breakaway riders were scattered all over the road, meaning staffers in his Tudor Pro Cycling team car couldn’t tweak Alaphilippe’s radio or relay the racing scenario.
Alaphilippe rode toward Carcassonne clueless that Wellens and second-place Victor Campenaerts were already over the line.
“The race was so full-on all day, there was no chance to change the radio,” Tudor team director Raphael Meyer said. “Lulu went to the sprint, did a perfect sprint. He thought he won.
“Well … what can we do?” Meyer continued. “It’s super nice to be third. We said this morning in the bus that we’d be happy with third place. With everything that happened, we’re happy.
“We’re third, Michael Storer was ‘most combative,’ so we had a good day,” Meyer said. “Now let’s hope Julian has no severe injuries.”
Tudor Pro Cycling officials later confirmed that an X-ray taken at the finish in Carcassonne confirmed Alaphilippe suffered no fractures.