Julian Alaphilippe became the unexpected story of stage 15 at the 2025 Tour de France – not for winning the stage, but for mistakenly celebrating as if he had. Arms aloft in Carcassonne, the Frenchman believed he had just taken an emotional solo victory. In reality, he’d finished third.
The chaos began less than 20 kilometres into the stage. Alaphilippe crashed heavily, hitting the tarmac in a large group incident that also brought down Florian Lipowitz and others. Initially clutching his shoulder in visible pain, there were fears his race was over. But after being assessed by the race doctor, Alaphilippe revealed he had dislocated his shoulder and managed to pop it back in himself before rejoining the peloton.
“For a few seconds I thought it was over,” he told France 2. “Then I remembered what they did at the hospital, and I managed to pop it back in myself.”
Despite the injury, the double world champion battled back into the race and eventually made it into a 24-rider breakaway that went up the road. The day was relentlessly fast, with multiple attacks across the rolling Languedoc roads, and Alaphilippe found himself sprinting from the front group inside the final kilometre.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Charly LopezHe launched his sprint to the line against riders like Wout van Aert and Axel Laurance and, with no visible contenders ahead of him, Alaphilippe threw his hands in the air and roared with apparent joy. The French crowd responded in kind – until the truth filtered through.
Unbeknownst to Alaphilippe, Tim Wellens had won the stage solo by over a minute, and Victor Campenaerts had taken second. His celebratory finish had been for the final podium spot, not the victory.
Speaking afterwards, a sheepish Alaphilippe admitted the mix-up was due to a broken team radio from his crash.
“Unfortunately the radio stopped working after my crash, so like an idiot I sprinted to try and win,” he said. “But it’s all about mindset, and mentally I’m doing OK.”
Raphael Meyer, CEO of the Tudor team, echoed that sentiment. “We didn’t have time to change the radio. He did a perfect sprint and thought he’d won. What can we do? At least we have the photo,” Meyer said, referencing the now-viral image of Alaphilippe’s premature celebration.
It wasn’t the first time he’s been caught out like this. In 2020, at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Alaphilippe famously celebrated too early, only for Primož Roglič to lunge past on the line. That time he was also relegated for deviating from his line. This time, there was no penalty – just the awkwardness of a false celebration in front of a global audience.
Alaphilippe’s dislocated shoulder did not require surgery, and post-stage x-rays confirmed there were no fractures. The team say he is hopeful of continuing the race after Monday’s rest day.
“It was painful,” Alaphilippe said. “But I fought hard, I had good legs, and I’m proud of how I rode. Even if I didn’t win.”
Main photo credit: Sarah Meyssonnier/Reuters
