"I can't pull off the kind of moves Ben O'Connor and Oscar Onley were able to do" - Kevin Vauquelin misses out on Maillot Jaune at Tour de Suisse 2025

For a long time on stage 4 of the 2025 Tour de Suisse, it looked incredibly likely that Arkéa - B&B Hotels leader Kevin Vauquelin would end the day as the race leader and in the Maillot Jaune. After a big fightback from Romain Gregoire in the finale however, Vauqeulin remains 2nd overall, 25 seconds down on his fellow Frenchman. 

On the main climb of the day, Vauquelin put up a strong fight against an attacking Joao Almeida, before eventually having to allow the Portuguese go clear solo at the head of the race. "It was a tough climb. In any case, I held on well," Vauquelin reflected happily of the Cat 1 Splügenpass in his post-stage interview afterwards. "I ended up just behind Joao Almeida in a group of four. I can already thank the headwind. But my legs were pretty good."

At the summit of the climb, Vauquelin was, as mentioned, clear of race leader Gregoire. Sadly for the Arkea leader though, that wouldn't last until the finish line. "I heard they weren't far behind. Honestly, hats off, because they came back to three when there were eight of us. Well, seven, don't count Felix Gall," he said. " It would have been fun to take back the yellow jersey, but it was complicated to manage because I knew Romain was going to ride at full speed."

Whilst Ben O'Connor and Oscar Onley were then able to launch a counter attack and gain a small amount of seconds over Gregoire in the finale, Vauquelin was left frustrated. "With O'Connor, it was a good move, it's a shame," the Frenchman concludes. "We have to hang on as much as possible. I think I'm in the top 5-10. And maybe, why not, a stage win. I'm second overall, I can't do much. That's the downside of being so well placed, is that I can't pull off the kind of moves Ben O'Connor and Oscar Onley were able to do, it's a shame."