That Tour de France French training, Arkéa B&B Hotels. In lack of sponsor for next year, the team ofEmmanuel Hubert gave everything about this Large loop To make the Excalibur jersey shine. One thing that was perfectly done with seventh place in the general classification of the new darling of the French, Kévin Vauquelinwho hung on every day to keep his top 10 in the general classification. A few weeks ago, Cyclism’Actu had interviewed the sports director of this training, Didier Rouson the end of end of Tour pour Vauquelin. A dilemma between a stage victory and a good general classification was then topical. This Sunday, July 27, on the Champs-Élysées, for the arrival of this Tour 2025, the 54 -year -old sports director again expressed to our microphone in Cyclism’Actu to take stock of Tour de France The team, which, as a reminder, is always looking for sponsor for next season.
“We proved what we knew how to do …”
We had seen ourselves at the start of the Tour de France. In the end, we played the general classification with Arkéa B&B Hotels.
Day after day, things have been set up naturally. What we didn't want was putting pressure on Kevin (Vauquelin). We had come for a stage victory, and it remained the objective for a long time. In fact, we changed our rifle a little at the exit of the Pyrenees, because it had crossed this part of the tower. We said that we would take an assessment, we did it, and we saw that it was possible to aim for a good place in the general classification. He won last year. This year, we turned more to the general, and it was built step by step. It was not easy: it was necessary to fight, fortunately he had his teammates, and that he also progressed mentally. This is what allowed us to get there. 4ᵉ By team, 7ᵉ in the general classification of the Tour: I think it is a very good performance.
What is the feeling today? We read the interview with Manu Hubert at Philippe Court of Dauphinéas you know. What is hard is that it could stop. She shouldn't stop this team?
Of course. It pisses off. Because, as in any beautiful adventure, there are beautiful people in this team. People who believe in what they do, who fight every day for runners, with runners. And I want to thank everyone, be it supervision or runners, for having kept the course without knowing what the future reserves for the team. For me, it is almost the most important.
So humans take precedence over money?
Of course, because humans are at the center of a project. In high level sport, it can not be only results. Human is essential. To bring together, to motivate, to go higher, it is the human who makes the difference. These are not just figures or numbers. Yes, there is a large part of the human, and as long as humans remain at the heart of sport, we can still do beautiful things. But if it disappears, it can become complicated.
We know your reserved side, but there: smaller budget of the World Tour, 4ᵉ in the team ranking, Top 10 with Kevin Vauquelin… What are you feeling?
Pleasure. Pleasure, because we have worked for that. It's not always easy: smaller budget, we face armadas that have huge means, but we still exist. And I always say to the guys: when you have the opportunity, you have to seize it. You have to fight, have no regrets. Everything we did on this turn, I find it great. Because everyone has brought their stone to the building, at one time or another. Kevin had a real team around him, solid guys, who believed there. The staff also did a big job and today, the result is there. We can be proud.
Kevin (Vauquelin) said he wanted to stay despite the offers of large teams. Should it touch you?
Obviously. Kevin sees how we work. Even facing the big teams, we don't have to be ashamed. We work differently. We have fewer means, but we compensate for more involvement. Where some teams have three people per post, we only have one. But we get there. Kevin sees all that, he sees the opportunities he has here, that he might not have elsewhere, where runners are sometimes treated like numbers.
We know that Emmanuel Hubert works a lot. What message do you want to go to investors?
Believe in us. We proved what we knew how to do. Kevin's statements are proof of this. We are pros, we work well. Come see us.
