"A little shrug, a head tilt, and a “pfft” noise is French for anything from “we shall see,” to “why not,” to “of course,” to “it’s out of my hands,” depending on context. Julian Alaphilippe has used the gesture in every press conference since he took the lead at the Amgen Tour of California, usually in response to questions about retaining his overall lead. He didn’t know what was possible, truly. His guess was as good as ours. [..] until Friday, when we all found out together. [..] “I’m really having fun on the bike. I must keep my feet on the ground,” he said. He’s having too much fun, it would seem, to buy into the monk-like lifestyle the grand tours require. His favored territory is the Ardennes, where the 23-year-old has already wracked up a palmares that would be the envy of a man 10 years his senior. “I’m not a real climber. It requires so many sacrifices,” he said. “Even if I like those finishes, you can’t really say that I’m a climber."