Thomas was very enthusiastic about INEOS-newcomer: "Maybe he recognizes something of his younger self in me"

After a great Tour de France, we unfortunately did not see Kévin Vauquelin in action again, but the Frenchman nevertheless got his transfer to INEOS Grenadiers. At the British formation, the top talent was welcomed with open arms and that makes him dare to express his ambitions for 2026. Revenge: that seems to be the main one....

The 24-year-old Vauquelin rode a fine spring, which also included several victories in his own country. Still, he impressed with, for example, a second place in the Flèche Wallonne, and without the final time trial in the Tour de Suisse, the Frenchman would have won that too. It was in build-up to the Tour, where he delighted the French people. In the end, Vauquelin finished seventh in GC.

However, that was immediately his last race of the year. The Arkéa rider broke his shin due to a fall down the stairs and saw the last races of the year go up in smoke. It did not stop INEOS from attracting the Frenchman, and so Vauquelin had his top transfer after all.

With his new team, it takes some getting used to. "It's the second training camp... And it's all in English, so it really takes me out of my comfort zone," the Bayeux-born rider told l'Équipe. "But I share a room with Victor (Langellotti, red.), who has helped me tremendously, and all the riders are happy that I'm trying to speak English."

Conversations with brand-new Director of Racing Geraint Thomas will also have to be in English. In any case, the Welshman was very excited to welcome Vauquelin. "That's great to hear. Maybe he recognizes something of his younger self in me, because we are both good time trialists and I made my Tour de France debut in a similar way," the Frenchman said.

"And we can relate to each other in our way of thinking and working," Vauquelin continued. "It will definitely be a great asset to have such an experienced rider with a great track record and his own unique approach.... It's really exciting and I'm so glad he said that."

First comes a final phase of recovery from that nasty tibial fracture. "That's going well, the hard work is starting to pay off. I've been working a lot with physical therapists and doing strength training.... It might be a new learning experience, actually, it allows me to train better. As Dave Brailsford (general manager, red.) rightly says: I have to take my time."

Once fit, Vauquelin can pick up where he left off, and then he will have to slowly but surely decide which way he wants to go. Towards the classics, or more the GC stuff? "I had to decide what I would rather do: go flat out to win stages or be very focused for three weeks. For now, I feel I'm on the right track and am aiming for GC."

"Anyway, every rider dreams of winning the Tour de France, so I have to keep going," he added. "This summer, thanks to the fans, I experienced something so special that I want to go back. And now the dream is the yellow jersey. I missed it by a hair, it really pissed me off, and now I want revenge. I haven't had that yellow jersey yet ... that's the dream," he ended combatively.