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French revelation Kรฉvin Vauquelin clearly isnโt overawed at racing the superstars of the Tour de France.
Vauquelin โ currently third on GC between Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard โ called out the Belgianโs tactics after a raucous GC battle up Mรปr-de-Bretagne on Friday.
โRemco didnโt want me there. He was afraid,โ Vauquelin told Eurosport after Fridayโs 7th stage.
The 24-year-old breakout Vauquelinย was briefly gapped when the race exploded on the Mรปr in Fridayโs explosive finale.
Evenepoel, Vingegaard, and race dominator Tadej Pogaฤar pulled clear, and the Quick-Step leader worked to drive the pace.
Vauquelin told Eurosport that Evenepoel was more interested in dropping him than pressuring the โbig two.โ
โThe pace was full gas. I was well-positioned but unfortunately Ilan Van Wilder caused a split in the corner,โ Vauquelin said. โBecause of that, I had to sprint from the bottom [to catch back on].
โI noticed that Remco didnโt want me to be there,โ Vauquelin said, referring to how Evenepoel drilled the pace ahead of Vingegaard and Pogaฤar.
โHe [Evenepoel] was afraid, because he rode the entire climb at the front. Not to win the stage, but to gain time in the general classification,โ Vauquelin told Eurosport.
Vauquelin flames French hopes
Vauquelin gave the massed crowds on the Mรปr something to cheer for Friday by crossing the line with Evenepoel.
The result leaves him poised a mere 17 seconds back on Evenepoel in both the general and young rider classifications.
โI have no regrets,โ Vauquelin said Friday after the stage. โThe strongest riders were at the front.โ
Vauquelin is lighting up French hopes at this Tour de France.
The nation is still reeling from the recent retirements of Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet, and suffering from its close view of Julian Alaphilippeโs downturn.
Itโs now been 40 years since the hosts saw a home Tour de France winner.
Beyond that, Vauquelinโs Breton team Arkรฉa-B&B Hotels is in desperate need of positive press as it struggles with a sponsorship crisis.
The official enthronement of Vauquelin number one in the hearts of the French.
The grannies will know his name, the children will chase him in the ass of the bus, Laurent Luyat will talk about it as soon as it will be necessary to warm the bicycle club plateau.
Kรฉvin Vauquel1. pic.twitter.com/bpPMfuvNu5
– In the musette (@danslamusette) July 11, 2025
How far Vauquelin goes in this Tour de France wonโt be decided by any dubious pulls from Evenepoel.
He won a stage last year at the Tour de France, twice came close at La Flรจche Wallonne, and was an impressive second overall last month at Suisse.
But heโs never stitched it together over three weeks.
The Pyrรฉnรฉes next week will either flame or fizzle French hopes.
Wars of words in a fraught first week of the Tour de France
Vauquelin isnโt the only protagonist of the Tour de France to make some spicy comments this week.
The Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Emirates-XRG super teams have been bickering over tactics through a series of explosive, classics-style stages across northern France.
Visma-Lease a Bike director Grishcha Niermann weighed in on the super team spat Friday.
The DS brushed off Tadej Pogaฤarโs criticism of โThe Beesโ and their perceived attempt to keep the Slovenian in the yellow jersey when Ben Healy won stage 6 through Normandie.
โItโs a good thing Pogaฤar doesnโt get yellow. We followed our own strategy and did exactly what we set out to do. Period,โ Niermann told Sporza ahead of stage 7 on Friday morning.
โWhat do I think of the criticism? I think itโs a compliment that heโs interfering with us,โ Niermann said. โWe look at ourselves, determine our own tactics and we donโt interfere.โ
Pogacar: โVisma didnโt annoy me yesterday, they annoyed other riders more, the ones who wanted to get in the break. If Visma tries, thereโs little chance it goes all the way. They just made the start of the stage harder for everyone. For us, it didnโt bother us.โ #TDF2025 https://t.co/qs5NmoAGFr
– The red flame (@laflammmeouge16) July 11, 2025
Tensions will likely simmer down through a double-header of sprint stages this weekend.
Will they boil back up in Mondayโs gruelling mid-mountain showdown in the Massif Central?
Most likely.
