French hope Kévin Vauquelin makes "a somewhat difficult decision" to skip the Tour de France

22-year-old Kevin Vauquelin is regarded by many as the next big general classification hope in French cycling. The Team Arkea Samsic rider won't be racing for the Maillot Jaune at this year's Tour de France however.

"The decision was taken with the team and it is carefully considered," says Vauquelin, currently at the Tour de Romandie on a virtual press conference. "I felt more like doing the Tour of Spain than the Tour de France and it's not in my career plan to skip the stages. It's not because I did well at the start of the season that I absolutely had to do the Tour de France, I didn't want to do it all at once."

A winner at the Tour du Jura and the Tour des Alpes Maritimes et du Var earlier this year, Vauquelin has done nothing to quash the hype around him and although the French supporters may be disappointed by his decision, he hopes it will prove successful in the long run. "I prefer to stick to my career plan and not skip the stages, whether physical or psychological. A Tour de France represents a big mental load, a big pressure, and even more when you are French in a French team and you see my media coverage at the moment," he explains.

"It's a decision that was of course a little difficult to make. I've been watching the Tour de France on TV since I was very young and there I had the opportunity to do it," he continues. "I didn't want to waste a participation just to do it right away and not be ready as it should be. The watchword was not to skip the stages"