"Trying to secure a win with my new team..." - Kévin Vauquelin looks to win with INEOS for the first time in Abruzzo; reveals he was also ill during Tour de France
CyclingTuesday, 15 September 2026 at 12:15
Kévin Vauquelin has not finished a race since the Tour de France, and this Tuesday he will be at the start line of the Giro d'Abruzzo as its headliner. The Frenchman is looking to finally win in the colours of the Netcompany INEOS team after a season that lacked the results he hoped for and a Tour de France spent away from the spotlight.
The Frenchman was sidelined from the World Championships, as was his teammate Thymen Arensman, by the British team. Instead, the priority was put in his individual results. "The team and I decided to skip the races in Canada. It took me a long time after the Tour de France to truly recover from the preceding months, during which I’d been ill," Vauquelin admitted to Cyclism'Actu.
Vauquelin had already been ill ahead of the Tour de France, which saw him not able to reach good form during the decisive days of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône Alpes. At the Tour, he was selected nevertheless, however in a stage-hunting role, which he used to place in the Top10 on two instances. But Vauquelin was never at the level he showed at his former Arkéa team during the previous year.
"I really pushed my body to the limit during the Tour. I got sick again in the third week, and I think my body was telling me I needed a proper break". At Paris-Nice Vauquelin was fourth on GC, but lamented the lack of team support in the echelons stage, whilst Oscar Onley was fully backed and later on fully cracked.
A season that needs saving
In the Ardennes he did not perform as he had in the past, and at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône Alpes he missed out on a period in the yellow jersey by only a few seconds, after the team waited for Onley during the team time trial.
Since the Tour, he raced but did not finish the Memorial Marco Pantani. Against modest competition, he hopes to take something out of the Italian stage-race. "The Giro d'Abruzzo was one of the races on our schedule, and it offers the best way for me to get back into the swing of things, with tough, punchy courses. It could be very beneficial for the races coming up later".
Like several of his teammates, Kévin Vauquelin finished the Tour de France far from his best health
Vauquelin yet to win for INEOS
"The aim for the end of the season is to finish on a high note. We haven’t picked out the subsequent races just yet; we’ll see how I progress this week," he added. As it stands, INEOS hasn't taken a win in almost a month; whilst they were unable to win at both Tour de France and Vuelta a España.
"But the main goal is really to end the season well. I’ve had a few years where the end of the season was pretty tough—dealing with injuries and periods where things weren't going so well. I’m really determined to try and finish this season strongly".
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Vauquelin, signed to be one of the team's leaders for 2026, hasn't yet been able to capitalize on it much. He now looks to save his season by at least winning one race before it comes to an end.
"Trying to secure a win with my new team. We’d really love to cross the finish line first. We know the field isn't quite as evenly matched here, though there are still some very good riders. It would be a great opportunity to rediscover the joy of racing—and, above all, the feeling of winning," he concluded.
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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