Arkéa boss compares Tadej Pogacar to the legends of cycling: "I think he's one of the greats like Merckx, Hinault, Indurain and Anquetil"

Arkéa - B&B Hotels didn't have a good record in their latest Grand tour appearances, however they were able to break the streak of 'no results' at the 2024 Tour de France. That is thanks to Kevin Vauquelin who managed to win the 'San Luca' stage two. For the rest of the race, the French team hasn't got much to brag about, but that one stage victory alone makes the past three weeks a success for manager Emmanuel Hubert.

In an interview for Cyclism'Actu he looks back at the Grande Boucle. "We will remember this Tour de France, there is a lot of satisfaction and happiness in the Arkéa - B&B Hotels team. We have finally been rewarded for our hard work. Winning on the Tour ranks a man and ranks a team, and so all the team's employees and partners can be proud of this victory."

Perhaps even more hopes were put into the sprinter Arnaud Démare, but on that one occasion where he came close to winning a stage, the experienced Frenchman was subsequently relegated and so Arkéa's Tour will be defined by Vauquelin's success. And it's the 23-year-old with whom Hubert makes the plans into future. "We want to try to continue with guys like Kevin. By ticking certain boxes, we can perhaps hope that Kevin will appear in the general classification. Afterwards, by debriefing this Tour, we will try to see things a little more clearly and see where we can classify him."

Finally, Emmanuel Hubert spoke about the final podium and mainly the absolute winner of this year's edition - Tadej Pogacar. "It's a very nice podium. Pogacar crushed the Tour de France, and it was beautiful to see. Winning six stages puts him in a class of his own, and I think he's one of the greats like Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault, Miguel Indurain and Jacques Anquetil," he concluded.