Pogacar leaves door open to giving away yellow jersey, giving France hope: "No GC, and others know that too"

The 24-year-old Frenchman had already impressed before the Tour with a second-place finish overall in the Tour of Switzerland, and it’s clear he has brought that form into the Tour. Last year, he surprised everyone by winning stage two, but his strong performances in these first days come as less of a surprise now. This year alone, he has won the Etoile de Bessèges and the Région Pays de la Loire Tour, and finished second in the Flèche Wallonne.

Over the course of the first few stages, Vauquelin watched Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard dominate, but he always managed to stay close. On day 2, he punched his way to 8th place, and on Tuesday he finished 10th in stage 4. That meant that going into Wednesday’s time trial, he was only 26 seconds behind yellow jersey holder Van der Poel – a strong position given his time trial strengths.

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The French rider showed his top form again on day 5, finishing fifth in the 33-kilometer time trial from Caen to Caen. He lost 49 seconds to stage winner Remco Evenepoel, but only about 30 seconds to Pogacar. That result puts Vauquelin third overall after five days, 59 seconds behind the Slovenian. Evenepoel sits second, 17 seconds ahead of the Frenchman. And that’s significant, because although Pogacar was happy to take yellow, he says he doesn’t necessarily want to keep it for now.

“I don’t necessarily need to wear the jersey every day. The most important thing is yellow in Paris,” Pogacar said about leading the race. UAE team boss Mauro Gianetti, however, sees Vauquelin as a potential rival: “I expected him to be strong this Tour. He has shown good things before, but he wasn’t always consistent. Now he knows himself better and is more consistent. Maybe he’s still a bit too heavy for the high mountains, but what he’s showing here is impressive. We have to watch out for everyone.”

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At Arkéa-B&B, they will be hoping Vauquelin gets the chance in the coming stages to maybe take over yellow. Team director Didier Rous told Cyclism’Actu: “Kévin rode a really, really good time trial. He already proved in Switzerland that he climbs well and he has momentum. He lost the white young rider’s jersey to Remco, but he fought hard, and there are stages coming up that suit him. He’s not here for the GC, and the other teams know that too.”

Rous is clearly calling on UAE Team Emirates-XRG to let go of the yellow jersey, although their biggest goal remains a stage win with Vauquelin. The rider himself agreed: “I’m loving it. This is pure happiness. So much is happening, and I’m getting so much support, people are shouting my name, and it gives me goosebumps. We want to win a stage, maybe from the favorites’ group or from a breakaway. I didn’t even feel my legs in the time trial and rode one of my best ever. I’m just enjoying every moment.”