New world champion Julien Alaphilippe (Detuninck-Quickstep) will not make his debut in the rainbow stripes at La Flèche Wallonne, despite having been selected as a team member for the Belgian team.

The Frenchman will be racing after Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where he finished second in 2015. Alaphilippe will miss Wednesday's Ardennes Classic opener as he needs to recover from Sunday's world championship road race in Imola and will return to racing in Liège on October 4.

"It does complicate things a bit," he told RMC Sport. 'I've already told the team that I won't be at La Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday.

"It will be a bit borderline. In terms of physical and mental recovery, it's not necessarily the right choice to go to La Flèche Wallonne."

Alaphilippe, who attacked on the final climb of the 258km race in Imola and won solo, rode the full Ardennes Classique before racing the Tour de Flanders, He was scheduled to close out his 2020 campaign.

But now, he said, he will focus on Liège-Bastogne-Liège and beyond. He has won La Flèche Wallonne the past two seasons, but is still aiming for his first win at La Doyenne.

"I want to focus on Liège - Bastogne - Liège and everything that happens after that.

"Missing La Flèche Wallonne is a good choice. I want to enjoy the jersey, recover and recover a bit from this incredible day."

Alaphilippe's replacement is Tim Declercq. The Belgian will be joined by freshmen Andrea Bajori, Remi Cavagna, Dries Devenance, Ian Garrison, Bob Jungels, and Mauri Vansevenan.