revelation of the last Tour de France, Kévin Vauquelin leaves Arkéa B&B-Hôtels for Ineos-Grenadiers training

After three years with the Breton team, whose future is dotted, the Norman officially signed with the British team on Friday.

His eighth place during the 21st stage of the Tour de France, on July 27, was therefore the last day that Kévin Vauquelin wore the jersey of the Arkéa-B&B Hôtels team. Revelation of this Grande Boucle which he had finished in 7th place, he was the victim of a domestic accident the next day, forcing him to end his season. The Norman will no longer ride for the Breton team, which is on the brink of collapse due to a lack of buyers, and will join the Ineos-Grenadiers team, as announced by the British team, Friday October 10.

“Arkéa-B&B Hôtels will always remain important to me. It is the team that allowed me to become a professional, where I was trusted and given responsibilities. I was able to flourish and learn my profession in a calm environment”, he said in the press release of his new formation. “I signed to be leader and to be in numbers, that is to say to be in a situation where there are several of us who can win a race”he justified on the website of The Team

Having turned pro in 2022 in Emmanuel Hubert's training, Kévin Vauquelin therefore leaves the Rouge et Noir for England after three years and 10 victories, the most memorable of which was during the 2nd stage of the 2024 Tour de France, in Bologna. A form of heartbreak for the 24-year-old Norman, as he confided to The Team September 16 : “To end an adventure like that is already a shame, even if we ended on a very good note with the Tour. But I would have liked to finish this season with the team, with the staff with whom I am still in contact”he regretted in the columns of the daily newspaper.

A few months after having won over the French public in search of new faces, he left doubt about his destination, still leaving a few clues along the way. “I know it (where I will sign)but I can't say it yet. I chose a team where I instinctively felt like I should go. As I did with Arkéa…”, he had suggested to The Team we-september.

It will therefore ultimately be the Ineos-Grenadiers team, where next year he will join two other French people, Axel Laurance and Dorian Godon, defector from the Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale team. Kévin Vauquelin will make a leap in terms of collective performance, going from 20th to 7th team in the UCI ranking. The British team, which has won six Grand Tour stages this season (one in the Giro, two in the Tour and three in the Vuelta), should take the Frenchman to another level, particularly in time trials – where he already excels – in contact with specialists like Filippo Ganna, Joshua Tarling or Michal Kwiatkowski. “I have to improve my English, which is not the easiest thing for me (laughs). It’s what stresses me out the most, but I’m working on it like I’m working on cycling”he slips.

“In the same way that I had instinctively signed with Arkéa, I felt the thing with Ineos. I wanted to get out of my comfort zone, not stay in France and discover something else, a different cultureexplains to The Team Kévin Vauquelin, who made his decision in April. I really signed up for the performance. I want to discover myself 100% and Ineos immediately sounds good in terms of performance. Their history on Grand Tours, stage races, with very great riders, led me to think that it was good for me. I have a lot to learn. When I was little I watched Sky, because they had links with the track (he distinguished himself younger on the track). Bradley Wiggins, Geraint Thomas, it resonated with me. It's a childhood dream come true. The biggest team I always wanted to go to was Ineos.” His dream is now coming true.