A race like a thriller: Thanks to Kévin Vauquelin, the Tour de Suisse becomes a spectacle – despite defeat, the future belongs to him

Many top athletes lose themselves in their free time on TikTok or gaming on the computer. Kévin Vauquelin, on the other hand, reads books when he's putting his bike away. His favorite author is Franck Thilliez. Inspired by Stephen King, he writes dark thrillers: works in which the protagonists find themselves in seemingly hopeless situations and go through difficult times.

In the final days, Vauquelin himself seemed like a character in a Thilliez novel: Fighting heroically, the French cyclist fought against the impending fate of losing the Tour de Suisse at the last minute. Despite all his efforts, defeat became more likely with each stage, and in the end, fate struck with the expected relentlessness: favorite João Almeida snatched the yellow jersey from the outsider Vauquelin in the mountain time trial from Beckenried to the Stockhütte.

On the first stage last Sunday, Vauquelin surprisingly pulled out a lead of almost three minutes over Almeida in a breakaway. But when the going gets steep, the Portuguese rider is almost impossible to catch: He already won the Tour of the Basque Country and the Tour de Romandie in 2025. In 2024, Almeida finished fourth in the Tour de France, despite supporting overall winner Tadej Pogacar along the way.

The Portuguese rider, without any sense of humor, set out to make up for lost time. On Wednesday, he stormed over the Splügen Pass faster than anyone else, while Vauquelin, far behind, sparred with fellow countryman Romain Grégoire, who, in his opinion, wasn't participating enough in the chase. On Thursday, Almeida was once again far ahead, and Vauquelin summed up the tough battle to limit the damage at the finish line: "I was dead." He also said: "You experience more lows than highs in your career."

On Saturday, Vauquelin suffered another defeat, being overtaken by Almeida. Yet he still managed to salvage 33 seconds in the final time trial, which covered 800 meters of elevation over a distance of just 10 kilometers. The Frenchman announced he would ride so fast that he would be in trouble at the finish – and he kept his promise. As if every gram counted, he threw away his sunglasses en route. But Almeida set off even faster, and symbolically, he hadn't even put his glasses on.

By the first intermediate time, Vauquelin's lead had shrunk to 11 seconds, and shortly thereafter, the last spark of hope was gone. But the Frenchman wasn't upset about losing the race. In an interview with the NZZ newspaper that evening, he made it clear how pleased he was with how the week in Switzerland had gone: "This is a big step in my career. I'm benefiting greatly from this Tour de Suisse."

The 24-year-old belongs to a new generation of French cyclists, fundamentally different from their predecessors. The latter dreamed big, only to almost always fail just as badly. Thibaut Pinot, for example, sought the overall victory in the Tour de France, something the Grande Nation has been waiting for since 1985, when Bernard Hinault last triumphed. Pinot always failed dramatically due to a combination of bad luck, incompetence, and professional opposition.

Vauquelin, his somewhat younger compatriots Grégoire and Lenny Martinez, and the 18-year-old Paul Seixas, operate more soberly. They talk little, work hard, aim for realistic goals—and instinctively pounce when opportunities arise. Like on the first stage of the Tour de Switzerland, when Almeida's UAE team slipped up and allowed the breakaway to pull away. Grégoire won the stage, and Vauquelin gave the Tour de Suisse one of the most exciting duels for the yellow jersey in recent years.

The fact that the drama took on a literary quality naturally pleased the organizers as well. "We're floating on cloud nine," said event director Olivier Senn on Sunday. The atmosphere was already fantastic during the women's race, with Swiss overall winner Marlen Reusser , "and it got even better day by day for the men." His plan to create a course that would offer suspense right up to the finish paid off, for once.

The assessment of the financial situation is more optimistic than it has been for a long time. According to the organizers, it has become realistic to bring the chronically loss-making event, including the women's race, into profitability. "That's why they hired me," said Gabriela Buchs, the new CEO of Cycling Unlimited. She has been responsible for sponsorship efforts since taking office in November 2024. Buchs reported new partnerships with companies at home and abroad and positive feedback from other potential sponsors.

Almeida took in the overall victory with routine composure. Even Portuguese fans, who cheered him with national flags in Emmetten, didn't tempt him. He will soon be helping Pogacar again at the Tour de France. When asked whether he would consider riding on his own in the world's biggest race, he replied almost phlegmatically: "It doesn't matter."

Vauquelin was visibly more pleased with second place: He knows the future could be his. He's still under contract with Arkea, a French underdog team. However, he could switch to the better-funded British team Ineos. The transfer would be so unromantic, yet simultaneously rational, that it would be a perfect fit for the representative of the new French generation.

At Ineos, Vauquelin would likely work with, among others, Sir David Brailsford, who led the previous team, Sky, to several Tour de France victories before shifting his focus to Manchester United. Brailsford is said to be planning a stronger involvement in cycling in the future. It should come as no surprise if Vauquelin makes an even bigger splash than he did at the 2025 Tour de Suisse.