Kevin Vauquelin seems to be the only bright point in Arkéa - B&B Hotels' final WorldTour season. The Frenchman outscores his best teammates by multiple times in the UCI ranking. And with his contract running out at the end of this season, the 24-year-old has the privilege of choice from the world's best teams for 2026.
"If I were to explain a little bit about the behind-the-scenes events we had this week with the team... We're not going to lie: with teams like UAE, it's not the same. This is an opportunity to tell you, in front of the media, that, this week, we didn't even have a boss," Vauquelin says about the situation at Bistrot Vélo.
At Tour de Suisse, Vauquelin went head to head with UAE Team Emirates - XRG's GC star Joao Almeida, but ultimately came a bit short in this duel. What strikes him was the levels of difference in terms of support his Portuguese opponent received from his team, compared to the humble working conditions in Arkéa.
"UAE has a lot of staff on the race. For us, it's always a hard decision because we have a smaller budget," he explained. "Our budget is not nothing, but unlike billionaires or sponsoring countries, we definitely have a lot less. We can't have food trucks on every race, refrigerated trucks. We can't have the best buses, we can't have certain things."
Budget won't suddenly make your legs spin faster, but Vauquelin notes that marginal gains can stack up on such large scale: "All these details put together are seconds and seconds. It's almost a cry for help that I made to help the team and all the people who work despite less resources," he knows.
The Frenchman then goes on to give an example: "A wind tunnel session for a team costs a lot. When you have the budget, it's possible, when you have less it just isn't. We were talking about the time trial level of some French people but if we don't have the means to work as well as other nations, it's sure that the results will be less good."
And so, the only step forward for Vauquelin is the obvious - to leave the team where he grew up and pursue his career on a new address. Of course Vauquelin can't provide any details about his future employer, but he leaves a hint about his preferred options: "It's certain that INEOS, Visma or UAE, that's a dream because they have more resources to work even harder, to be even more meticulous."
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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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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