Kévin Vauquelin: "I am in a position to chase and not to be chased. We will see tomorrow anyway"

Arkéa–Samsic rider Kévin Vauquelin delivered a fabulous performance in the ITT stage of the Tour du Luxembourg but missed the victory by 3 seconds. He finished second behind the stage winner Mattias Skjelmose.

“I was able to finish very strong, and that’s what I want to remember,” said Vauquelin. It was a hectic day for him. Even before the start of the race, he faced his first hurdle. “I had to change my rear wheel at the start of this stage because of a flint that was embedded in my hose. It’s always good to have a little bit of pressure before a time trial so that you are immediately in it,” said Vauquelin.

But his problems were far from over. He made a silly mistake at the start of the race, which cost him the stage victory at the end. “I turned wrong on the wet road, went straight, and went towards the kerb. I pass within three centimeters of it. It’s one of my biggest scares in time trials. I think that this loss, considering what separates me from the winner on the line,” says Vauquelin.

While he may have lost the race, he is not disappointed with his performance, especially when the end result has helped to jump to the second position in GC. The Frenchman looks forward to the last stage, where he will try to give his best shot. “I am second overall tonight, there is one more stage tomorrow, it will be a hard race. I am in a position to chase and not to be chased. I am used to second places at the moment in stage races. I hope I have learned from my recent mistakes in this kind of race. We will see tomorrow anyway,” concluded Vauquelin.