INEOS Grenadiers could be close to signing French Tour de France stage winner
Cycling
INEOS Grenadiers is looking to change the momentum with the team's ongoing bad situation and this year could be one of change. Into the upcoming transfer season, the team will have to make big moves in the market and it starts early, as it's said that one of France's upcoming talents is in sights of the British team.
This is Kévin Vauquelin, reportedly a rider of great interest to INEOS according to journalist Daniel Benson who is on the ground at the Etoile de Bessègess - where he is one of the big favourites to win the overall classification, and is the reigning vice-champion. INEOS' 2025 signings were very modest, perhaps shaken up a bit with the recent transfer of Caleb Ewan whose contract with Team Jayco AlUla was broken at some point during the winter so as to make way for a departure. The team signed Axel Laurance perhaps as it's most promising rider, and they may continue to focus on the French riders with Vauquelin now being in sight.
There is very important context to the 23-year old's situation, which is that at the time being, Arkéa - B&B Hotels run the risk of ending this season. The World Tour outfit are currently in relegation position, but above all it continues to struggle with it's sponsors and the team may see it's fate decided as soon as March or April, if it fails to find a big sponsor that can bring in the budget to compensate the ones that are set to leave this season.
The team has a few quality riders that are of great interest to other teams and perhaps Vauquelin is the biggest of all. In 2024, besides Bessèges, he was a Top10 finisher at Tirreno-Adriatico, Itzulia Basque Country, second at Flèche Wallonne, and won stage 2 of the Tour de France in Bologna, winning from the day's breakaway. He is a quality stage-racer who can time-trial quite well. According to Benson INEOS and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale are aready interested in the Frenchman.
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Kévin Vauquelin is still on the market; nothing is signed at this moment in time. Lots of interest from teams, including French squads, especially Decathlon, and Ineos.
— Dnlbenson (@dnlbenson) February 5, 2025
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- Are you drunk? Every one agrees Mads has never been more slim (look at his climbin)g and this maybe takes the top of his sprintUpHill16-04-2025
- Eli was attacked by a guy wearing a Belgian scarf, was that the intoxication effect?Mistermaumau16-04-2025
- Exactly, and with Mads in the running, a quartet would have been formed, TP and MVDP would have had to exhaust themselves more to shake off both Mads and Jasper although MVDP could have played his lead-out role for Jasper again (remember, it was he who broke Jasper, not Tadej and I don’t think Tadej would have risked countless attacks noticing an unbudging MVDP (who’d constantly pull Jasper with him without Jasper having to go into the red)). Any of the possible scenarios would NOT have favoured Tadej and in a 4-way sprint at the end his most likely place would then have been 4th. In the end he can count himself quite fortunate with his 2nd. Don’t think there’s a market for games for budding cycling team managers managers, so let’s just stop the ifs and buts, if MVDP hadn’t been ill at Flanders, if Jonas hadn’t crashed before the last Tour, if Primoz hadn’t underestimated Tadej on the Planche des Belles Filles, if, if if works both ways.Mistermaumau16-04-2025
- For a moment there my brain registered Patrick L.Mistermaumau16-04-2025
- Tadej, STUPOR MUNDI.
maria2024202416-04-2025 - Why the random and unnecessary disrespect to Cadel? At least he didn't cheat like Contador.Pogboom16-04-2025
- If we're playing the "what if" game - I'd go further back to Mads getting a puncture and possibly being a favourite to win the race. He would have likely beat Tadej and MVDP in a sprint at the Velodrome. He appeared to be one of the stronger riders who faced some bad luck. But, that's just cycling. Wout could have very well won Paris-Roubaix in 2023 if he hadn't punctured in the last 10km. I wish Tadej hadn't crashed or would've caught up so all these stories of how Tadej should have won wouldn't exist, I think MVDP was the stronger rider in this particular race.JBlake16-04-2025
- There might be some truth to Visma's psychology being hurt by last year's crashes. But, definitely - Itzulia was a boycott because of the Organizer's and comments made by them this year again proves it is necessary. The crash profoundly changed the course of the season for several of the top riders, yet they got blamed for not being careful, going too fast, or. not knowing the roads enough.JBlake16-04-2025
- Someone else may be able to give better local context, but I don't think these type of incidents only happen to MVDP - although, it does seem to happen more often to him. Eli Iserbyt had beer thrown at him earlier this year, or Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard had chips thrown in their face during last year's Tour de France. The common theme is alcohol between most incidents, combined with being outdoors for a prolonged period of time. MVDP is also not very well-liked by many Belgian fans for his success, particularly against a rider like Wout. It's likely a combination of today's society, alcohol, some dislike towards the rider, and just being stupid. Hopefully real consequences might dissuade others from doing similar things.JBlake16-04-2025
- Yeah, but MVDP actually isn't. If Pog goes up the road, it is his responsibility to run it down, and everyone knows he has the most to lose. It's just rare that anyone calls him on it.acem8216-04-2025