Julian Alaphilippe's Cousin Joins DeTuning Quickstep Coaching Staff

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Julian Alaphilippe's Cousin Joins DeTuning Quickstep Coaching Staff

Deceuninck-QuickStep has announced that Julian Alaphilippe's cousin has joined the team's coaching staff. Frank Alaphilippe has been coaching the team since Julian Alaphilippe was a teenager, and it was reported earlier this year that he would take on an official role with the team for the 2020 season.

"I will work hard to ensure the team remains the best in the world and wins the most beautiful races. My dream is to help riders become world champions," Frank Alaphilippe said in a statement released by the team on Friday.

In recent years, Franck Alaphilippe has worked in the French public sector as head of the cycling training center in Saint-Amand-Montrond. He told L'Équipe in July that he would be taking a leave of absence from this position for the next two seasons to take a full-time job with Deceuninck-QuickStep.

Franck Alaphilippe's clients include his cousin and coaching young players at Saint-Amand-Montron, as well as Marion Sico, who tested positive for EPO at this year's French championship. Sico, who denies any wrongdoing, said he stopped working with Alaphilippe before the French championship. Franck Alaphilippe told L'Equipe that he had been coaching Sico remotely via email and an online training platform for the first half of 2019.

On Friday, Detunink Quickstep also announced that Greek coach Vassilis Anastopoulos had joined the team's staff. Anastopoulos is a Greek national coach and has worked at the SEG Cycling Academy for the past few seasons with future World Tour professionals such as Fabio Jacobsen (Dečuninck-Quick Step) and Stevie Williams (Bahrain-Merida). He coached.

"I look forward to helping the team achieve their goals, keep winning, and join the Wolfpack Spirit," said Anastopolous.

Deceuninck-QuickStep manager Patrick Lefebvre welcomed the arrival of Alaphilippe and Anastopolous, who will work with a team of coaches that includes Kane Pelgrim and Tom Steels.

"We have announced the signing of a number of riders for next season, but the addition of Franck and Vassilis is also very important," Lefebvre said. 'Both have a proven track record in improving riders and getting them into the best possible shape for the most important races.'

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