“I wasn’t far from Jonas Vingegaard, but people were looking at each other more than actually riding” - Kevin Vauquelin frustrated by lack of cooperation at Paris-Nice

Kevin Vauquelin admitted frustration after a key moment slipped away during the latest stage of Paris-Nice, with the French rider revealing that hesitation in the group prevented what could have been a decisive move in the race.

The INEOS Grenadiers rider was active during a fast and aggressive stage that gradually built towards a brutal finale in the Ardèche hills. The rapid tempo and constant attacks created the kind of chaotic racing that Vauquelin and his team had hoped for, allowing them to conserve energy while positioning themselves for the decisive climbs later in the stage.

“It started really fast, which actually suited us quite well,” Vauquelin explained after the stage to Cycling Pro Net. “We wanted the race to be animated and have a lot of movement, and that allowed us not to spend too much energy ourselves.”

The plan worked well for much of the day. With INEOS riders active earlier in the breakaway, Vauquelin was able to approach the decisive climbs without having to respond to every attack himself.

That set the stage for a decisive moment when the race began to split among the favourites. “I wasn’t far from Jonas Vingegaard at one point,” Vauquelin said.

But instead of pushing on to consolidate the move, the riders in the group hesitated. “People were looking at each other more than actually riding.”

That hesitation allowed riders from behind to regain contact, neutralising what could have been a race-defining move

As the regrouped riders began attacking again, the dynamics of the group became even more complicated. “Unfortunately, the group with Steinhauser and Martinez came back, which didn’t really help us,” Vauquelin said.

At the same time, repeated accelerations from Lenny Martinez made the racing more explosive but did little to establish a stable breakaway. “Lenny was very strong and attacked several times,” he explained. “I think maybe that wasn’t the best thing to do, because it just created a lot of surges and it helped the riders who weren’t working.”

In Vauquelin’s view, those repeated bursts of acceleration played into the hands of the more passive riders in the group rather than helping those trying to force a decisive selection.

Despite the frustration over the missed opportunity, Vauquelin still saw positives in his performance after another demanding day of racing.

Coming just one day after another hard stage, fatigue inevitably began to creep in as the race approached its conclusion. “The legs weren’t too bad,” he said. “Of course, at the end, I could feel that I had already had a big day yesterday.”

Even so, the Frenchman believes his form throughout the race has placed him firmly among the strongest riders in the field. “I’m still happy with my legs. I think I’m really among the stronger riders in this race.”

With several stages still remaining, Vauquelin is hopeful there will be further opportunities to turn that form into a result. “Now we still have a few stages left, so the goal is to keep improving and try to do even better.”

Vauquelin’s criticism of Lenny Martinez’s tactics reveals a subtle tension in French cycling. While Martinez is the pure, explosive climber who rides on instinct, Vauquelin—now leading the data-driven INEOS machine—prefers the calculated, steady-state chase. By pointing out that Martinez’s surges 'helped the passive riders,' Vauquelin is highlighting the difference between 'show-stopping' attacks and the cohesive work required to reel in a rider of Vingegaard's caliber. In the 2026 season, this rivalry for 'Best Frenchman' is becoming just as tactical as it is physical.