Netcompany INEOS suffer another setback before Tour de France: 'Difficult decision, but health comes first'

The virus that felled part of the Tour Auvergne Rhone-Alpes last week has also claimed victims in the week following the stage race. Kévin Vauquelin, riding for Netcompany INEOS, is suffering so severely from it that he has to miss this coming Sunday's French Championship.

Last year, Vauquelin finished an impressive seventh in the Tour de France and made the switch this winter from the smaller Arkéa team to Netcompany INEOS. Representing his new team, he finished fourth in Paris-Nice, fifth in the Tour of the Algarve, and tenth in the Tour of the Basque Country.

In a Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes dominated by bad luck for Netcompany INEOS, he, too, was unable to make an impact. Vauquelin finished fifteenth in the race after intended Tour leader Oscar Onley and Joshua Tarling, among others, dropped out following crashes. Carlos Rodríguez, the other climber, did not have an easy race either.

Vauquelin himself has now reported on social media that he, too, did not emerge from the race unscathed. 'Unfortunately, I cannot participate in the French Championships. A virus and a bacterial infection, which I contracted during the Auvergne Rhône Alpes-Tour, have weakened me.'

'In consultation with the team, we have decided to skip the championships in preparation for the Tour de France,' said the Frenchman. 'It was a difficult decision, but health comes first.' Defending champion Dorian Godon now has only Axel Laurance left as a helper.

Therefore, it is not yet clear how fit Vauquelin will be for the Tour de France. Onley and Tarling have meanwhile joined the team's training camp, while Egan Bernal, Thymen Arensman, and Filippo Ganna also seem certain of a spot in the British squad for the Tour de France.

Netcompany INEOS confirmed on Thursday that Oscar Onley would be unavailable for the 2026 Tour de France. Several sources had already reported that he wouldn’t be starting, and the rider himself seemed to confirm it with a post on Strava: “Road to the Tour... of Guangxi,' he wrote under his ride of just 43 kilometers.

On Thursday, his team confirmed the news: Onley, who was signed as the team leader for the Tour de France, will not be racing for Netcompany INEOS in July. On Instagram, the teamreported that it is indeed the “significant shoulder injury” that will keep Onley sidelined. “I’m gutted not to be able to line up for the Tour de France this year,” Onley said.

With Onley out and Vauquelin a serious doubt, things are not looking good for the British team.