Julien Alaphilippe will resume his season on August 1 at Strade Bianche, but will miss Il Lombardia for the Criterium du Dauphiné in preparation for a Tour de France rematch.

Deceuninck-QuickStep riders will also compete in Milan-San Remo (August 8) and the French national championships (August 23) before the Grande Pearl in Nice on August 29.

Alaphilippe, winner of the 2019 Strade Bianche, was originally scheduled to miss this season's race to compete in Paris-Nice, but the Tuscany event was postponed from its original March date due to a coronavirus outbreak.

"Winning last year was a great feeling and one of my best memories of the season," Alaphilippe said in a statement released by the team on Tuesday.

"The start was great until the race came alive in the last hour, I was really focused and always had a strong team around me. I love the track and the atmosphere at Strade Bianche and it will be interesting to restart the season, especially after a different preparation than last year.

A week after Strade Bianche, Alaphilippe will look to defend another title in Milan - Sanremo, which he won in a remarkable 2019 campaign. He described his victory at La Classissima as "the biggest win of my career."

Alaphilippe finished second at Il Lombardia in 2017, and while he made no secret of his desire to add the monument to his credentials, he admitted to forgoing this year's race, set for August 15. Instead, he will run the shortened Criterium du Dauphiné (August 12-16) before the Tour de France to fine-tune his climbing. The last race before the Tour will be the French Championships in Grand Champs.

"The Dauphiné is the best preparation for the Tour de France. It will be a special edition with a lot of hard stages, but I am not afraid of that and I want to win a stage like last year," said Alaphilippe. As for the championships, I think it's every rider's dream to win the tricolors. I'm not the type to do parkour like they did in Plumelec, but I'll give it my all.

Alaphilippe finished fifth overall at the 2019 Tour, wearing the yellow jersey for 14 days and winning two stages, including an individual time trial in Pau. He was in contention for the overall win until the end of the race, losing the maillot jaune on stage 19 on the Pass d'Iseran.

The route of the 2020 Tour, with its many mid-mountain stages in the opening two weeks, suits Alaphilippe's puncher's characteristics; the 28-year-old is currently in the Dolomites for a training camp with his team, Dečuninck-Quick Step.

"We'll take it one step at a time," he said. So far the preparations are going well and I am happy to be here in Val di Fassa with the guys. I've discussed my goals with the team and I'm looking forward to getting back into the season and seeing how I feel and what I'm capable of.

Alaphilippe started the 2020 season at the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina, but abandoned the race after two stages due to illness. He remained in South America and raced the Tour Colombia 2.1 before competing in the Von Ardèche Classic and the Drome Classic in France.

His last race before the cycling season was interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic took place in Paris-Nice, where he rode aggressively in the first and final stages, finishing 16th overall.