Julien Alaphilippe suggested that losing the Tour de France yellow jersey may be a blessing in disguise.

Alaphilippe exceeded expectations last year, holding the overall lead for 14 days until stage 19.

However, his hopes of challenging for the overall title disappeared over the weekend in the Pyrenees when he fell from the lead after a time penalty for an illegal feed on stage 5. After an attack on the Peyresourde pass, he suffered a 12-minute delay on Saturday and was seventh from last on the gruppetto on Sunday.

"I didn't think I could do what I did last year. Last year was an extraordinary season, an extraordinary Tour de France," the Dečuninck-Quick-Step rider said at a press conference on Monday's rest day.

"It was a great feeling and a great satisfaction to win in Nice last weekend and to wear the yellow jersey. It was unfortunate to lose the yellow jersey in the way I did, but maybe it was a good thing for me in the end, considering the weeks to come. Last year I finished the Tour completely exhausted, so maybe this is better for the rest of the Tour and after the Tour," Alaphilippe said.

This year's Tour, of course, is followed a week later by the World Championships road race. While Switzerland's Aigle Martigny was cancelled due to a pandemic, the world championships will be held in Imola, Italy, with the elite men's road race on September 27.

Alaphilippe would not talk about the world championships, saying only that he was "happy that it will still be held on a tough route," and instead wanted to focus on his next goal at the Tour de France.

"I'm done with the yellow jersey," he said, dismissing the idea of switching his sights to the polka-dot jersey for the mountains prize he won in 2018. I don't know if I'll go for it. It takes a lot of energy to do that. A stage win is a great motivation and remains a major goal for the team in this Tour.

"The first week was really hard and I needed rest days. I want to see how my legs react, see which stages suit me best, and figure it out from there."

The second week began with two flat stages, before the Masif-Saint-Lar's Mt. Nakayama stage. Stage 13 in particular is a grueling stage with more than 4,400 meters of elevation gain, the highest in the Tour, before finishing in Puy Marie. A summit finish at Grand Colombier ends the second week, and the final week heads into the Alps.

"There are a couple of stages that concern me. I don't know Puy Marie, but I talked to his teammate Remi Cabaña. He knows him well and said it will be a really difficult stage.

"Above all, I think the Alps are the best for me. The fact that I reconfirmed that stage motivates me even more. But in the end, the legs will decide."

Alaphilippe had little to say about the pandemic, which is back in the limelight as all riders will be tested for COVID-19 on the rest day. There were many fans along the Pyrenees, some coming very close to the athletes and some not wearing masks.

"I think it's being managed quite well," Alaphilippe said. 'We are tested regularly. Certainly there were some riders on the climb, but that's part of the Tour. Everyone has to respect the rules and wear masks.