"I could tell Remco Evenepoel didn’t want me there" - Kevin Vauquelin feels the tension of the Tour de France on stage 7
Cycling
Kevin Vauquelin continues to be a bright light for the Arkéa - B&B Hotels team at the 2025 Tour de France. After another strong showing on the brutal stage 7 finale atop the Mur-de-Bretagne, the French prospect remains sat 3rd overall in the general classification.
On stage 7 however, Vauquelin noted a clear rising in the tension levels of the peloton, with his White Jersey rival Remco Evenepoel the most significant name to be feeling the pressure in the opinion of the former Tour de France stage winner.
"It was full gas up the climb. I was well positioned, right on Jonas Vingegaard's wheel, but unfortunately Ilan Van Wilder (Evenepoel's domestique ed.) caused a split in the corner, so I had to go flat out right from the bottom," reflected Vauquelin in his post-stage interview afterwards, in comments collected by L'Equipe. "I could tell Remco didn’t want me there. He was nervous because he’d done all the work on the climb — not to win the stage, but to create gaps in the overall standings."
"That didn’t play in my favour, especially when Jhonatan Narváez came back before the top. I couldn’t find a way back into position," he continues. "And I’d put in such a big effort at the bottom, it was still a bit too far out."
Despite this though, Vauquelin matched almost every move, only losing 2 seconds at the line to Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. "No regrets," he concludes firmly. "The strongest guys were up front.”
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Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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