Julien Alaphilippe made his first public appearance since his crash at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, explaining that his recovery is going well and that upcoming tests will determine his return to racing.

The world champion suffered serious injuries in a major crash at the Belgian Monument race on April 24, puncturing his lung and fracturing his ribs and scapula.

His cousin and coach Franck Alaphilippe and Quick Step Alfa Vinyl team boss Patrick Lefebvre have provided updates on his condition, while Alaphilippe himself posted his thoughts on social media on Saturday ...

"Hello everyone. I am happy to take the necessary time to share some news with you all. My recovery is going well and the pain is lessening. I'm breathing easier and everything is moving in the right direction.

"I hope that that big crash will soon become just a bad memory. Thank you so much for all the messages of support over the past 10 days."

Serious and permanent injuries seem to have been ruled out, and attention is turning to recovery time and how much Alaphilippe's season has been hurt.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège was to be the final race of Alaphilippe's spring campaign.

In that sense, he is not missing out here and now, but Lefebvre described the Tour as a "race against time" to see if his star rider could make the July 1 start.

"I'm already motivated for what's coming up and I hope to see you again. Right now, I'm spending more time with my little family."

"I've been working on my own family for a while now," he said.

According to Lefebvre, the most favorable scenario is that Alaphilippe will return to the bike in mid-May, giving him only six weeks to build form for the Tour.