“I had a little revenge to take here” - Kevin Vauquelin impresses at Etoile de Bessèges
Cycling
Kevin Vauquelin delivered an impressive performance on Saturday to win the overall title at the Etoile de Bessèges. The Frenchman capped off his victory with wins on the final two stages, including a decisive 10km time trial in Alès.
Speaking after his triumph, Vauquelin expressed his satisfaction with both his personal achievements and the team’s efforts. "This victory in the general classification and in the time trial are very satisfying results, personally and for the Arkéa-B&B Hotels team," he said. "I had a good lead in the general classification this morning, so that allowed me to approach this last stage well. It rewards the work done all week, and during the winter. I had a little revenge to take here on the Etoile de Bessèges, after a special week and a very trying day yesterday."
Reflecting on his performance in the time trial, Vauquelin added, "To finish like this is really good. I am happy to have inaugurated the Bianchi Aquila RC time trial bike in a good way, with this victory.”
Remember, Vauquelin is the man that won the second stage of the Tour de France last July. He has got an exceptional amount of talent, and will be crucial for Arkea this year.
“Thibault Guernalec also set a good time,” he continued. “So these are positive signs of course. It shows that it is a fast bike. I really enjoyed it today. It bodes very well for the rest of the season."
This result marks a crucial step forward for Arkéa-B&B Hotels, a team facing significant challenges as they fight to retain their WorldTour license and secure their future. The strong performance at Etoile de Bessèges provides a much-needed boost of confidence for the squad as they look to make this a pivotal season. For Vauquelin and the team, this is precisely the positive start they needed.
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- Funny that they shorten women’s races but have no qualms about letting U23 do the same distances.Jumpyjohn23-03-2025
- Why is that relevant when discussing speed?Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- But he wasn’t the only one ;-)Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- Obviously the questions are more important to some here than to them or the team so I suggest looking for answers instead of asking questions between ourselves. We’ll probably get them unless someone actually goes to ask the protagonists themselves. Here are some starters : They like riding together; they have their own rivalry that helps bring out the best in both; they might get more points helping each other compared to racing separate races. In any case, unless we hear MJ complaining about it, I don’t think it’s going to change, it’s the Sepp Kuss syndrome all over again, fans lobbying against the will of the rider.Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- Mine goes to MVDP for entertaining us all year round :-) Stellar race, Ganna impressive in his own way as many predicted after some oddly lacklustre times.Mistermaumau23-03-2025
- i remember when not too long ago mathieu was regarded as a real tactical knucklehead. i’m not sure that was ever quite accurate, but it’s certainly the case that over the years he has become a real master tactician. in the biggest races, van der poel rarely makes choices that don’t fully optimize every specific advantage he has.OCexile23-03-2025
- Whatever the result, I believe the strategy by UAE to launch Pogacar was absolutely the right one. Unfortunately, they just were not able to execute it the way they must have planned, being all over the place at the start of the Cipressa.Cooldude23-03-2025
- They are without doubt not just the best two classics riders of this generation, but amongst the best of all time. MvdP is more suited to MSR and PR (which Pog has yet to race), while Pog is now almost untouchable at LBL and Lombardia. RVV is the only one where both basically have an equal chance to win.Cooldude23-03-2025
- bravissima!
maria2024202423-03-2025 - According to Tadej's Strava upload, he went up the Cipressa at an average speed of 37.6kph. Rocket ship! He did the 5.63km verified 'Cipressa' Strava segment in 8:59 minutes, which has a 4.3% average grade and total elevation gain of 229m. Naturally, he got the Strava KOM.Pogboom23-03-2025