"It's better to have a small underperformance today than tomorrow" - Kevin Vauquelin hopes to return into top-5
Cycling
Although the mountain time trial to Peyragudes didn't go perfectly for Kévin Vauquelin, the home rider still lives his dream while fighting for overall top-5 at Tour de France.
"Maybe I started off a bit too strong... I was completely exhausted," Vauquelin reflects afterwards. "I think yesterday's efforts left their mark: it's the first time my body has experienced this. Honestly, I'm half shivering, I'm exhausted. I haven't really looked at the exact times yet, but I think I've still limited the damage."
With Saturday's brutal mountain stage that features two special category climbs in mind, the Frenchman hopes his legs will respond better again. "It's better to have a small underperformance today than tomorrow, because tomorrow, I think the gaps will be much bigger."
It's a completely new scenario for the 24-year-old to ride GC: "It's also a discovery for my body, so it's normal that sometimes it blocks a bit. It was a bit of an off day: I wasn't feeling great this morning, a bit of a stomach ache... Maybe the stress is also rising. I think I need to let my body recover, and it will come back."
"Ultimately, a day like today, even if the effort is very intense over 20-25 minutes, it's almost more recoverable than a stage like yesterday. The crowd was incredible, and that's really what allowed me to keep fighting, even in the toughest moments. I felt like I was a little out of it, but their support gave me strength," concluded Vauquelin.
The Arkea - B&B Hotels clocked 11th best time today, losing 2:35 to Tadej Pogacar. What was more important that his closest opponent in GC - Oscar Onley was nearly 30 seconds faster, which allowed the Brit to overtake Vauquelin in fight for 5th place overall. Vauquelin will enter the key stage 14 with a 4-second deficit to Onley and 35 seconds ahead of seemingly resurrected Primoz Roglic.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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