Cruel Sunday but bright future for Kévin Vauquelin, who finally finished second in the Tour de Suisse

Christophe Moreau will have to wait before finding a successor. The 54-year-old former rider is, and will remain for some time to come, the last Frenchman to have won a World Tour-level stage race – the highest level on the circuit – with his success at the Critérium du Dauphiné in 2007. After a long eighteen-year wait, there was still hope for French cycling, led by Kévin Vauquelin at the Tour de Suisse.

At the finish of the 8th and final stage in Stockhütte, the Norman of Arkéa B&B Hotels looked grim, overwhelmed by the effort and the disappointment of not having achieved his objective. Fourth in the time trial, 1 minute 40 seconds behind Joao Almeida, he ceded the yellow jersey of leader of the general classification to the rider of UAE Team Emirates, winner of the race and at the same time of his third stage in eight days of racing. Vauquelin still finished second in the race, 1 minute 07 seconds behind the winner, ahead of the British rider Oscar, ^3rd at 1 minute 58 seconds.

Before this final day, Kévin Vauquelin only had a thirty-three second lead over the Portuguese , future lieutenant of Tadej Pogacar in the Tour de France (July 5-27). A very slim margin that the 24-year-old rider wanted to defend second by second, pedal stroke by pedal stroke in this time trial, an exercise in which he has already proven his skills (second in the French championships in 2024).

This final stage of the Tour de Suisse between Beckenried and Stockhütte, however, had a very specific profile – 10 kilometers of steep climbing – much better suited to Joao Almeida's climbing skills. The latter thus repeated the blow dealt to Lenny Martinez at the Tour de Romandie in early May : the Portuguese had deprived the 21-year-old Frenchman of the overall leader's jersey during the last stage, already in a time trial.

Winner of two stage races this season – the Etoile de Bessèges in February and the Région Pays-de-la-Loire Tour in April – Kévin Vauquelin said he was "disappointed" on Sunday, "because [he] had a lot of expectations." "It's a lot of emotions, a lot of expectations on myself," he continued, certainly not used to taking so much of the spotlight. It must be said that the rider from Bayeux (Calvados), who turned professional in 2022 , had in no way anticipated such a week.

This Tour de Suisse, which was not initially planned in his racing program, was mainly intended to help him fine-tune his preparation for the next events: the French championships (June 26-29), in Les Herbiers (Vendée), and the Tour de France (July 5-27). "I came here expecting to be slapped in the face, we really weren't aiming for the general classification. I find myself second in the Tour de Suisse, (...) it's just phenomenal," Vauquelin said.

He was finally propelled to the front of the field at the end of the first stage on Sunday, June 15, during which the favorites of the race were trapped by the breakaway. Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) then took the yellow jersey, while Kévin Vauquelin, 2nd, had a lead of nearly three minutes over Joao Almeida. A small strategic error by the top teams that the Norman, who held the yellow jersey from the 5th stage, took advantage of.

Throughout the week, the Arkéa B&B Hotels rider tried to resist the comeback of the Portuguese, who at one point considered it "impossible" to overturn this Tour de Suisse. He finally succeeded in the final time trial. "We made a small mistake [during the first stage] which cost us a lot, but we managed to repair it so I'm very happy. (...) It's a lesson, you should never give up," assured the man who won his third World Tour stage race of the season on Sunday.

Despite this unfortunate outcome, Kévin Vauquelin once again demonstrated the qualities that make him one of the most prominent riders of the new French generation: solid in the mountains, explosive and at ease in the time trial, the former track rider based in the south-east of France will certainly have other cards to play in the years to come in World Tour level stage races.