Kévin Vauquelin: ‘We fought like lions’

Race reportJul 25, 2025

World Team TeamTour de France

At the end of the final Alpine stage, Kévin Vauquelin retains the 7th place in the provisional GC.

Kévin Vauquelin

Until I cross the finish line in Paris, the Tour isn't over. Tomorrow's stage is very tough. I think I managed to limit the damage today. I took a break on the descent from the Col du Pré and Tobias Halland Johannessen took advantage of this to get his team rolling and distance me. I would have done the same in his place. It was a great battle with him. I fought hard. I can feel the effort weighing on my legs in this third week. The first climb of the day was tough, and I immediately felt that I wasn't feeling very well. It took me a while to get going. Once again, I was able to count on the extraordinary work of Ewen Costiou and Raúl García Pierna to support me. The rain may have worked in my favour on the final climb, which I managed at my own pace. I can't wait for next week so I can take a step back and reflect on everything that has happened over the last three weeks. It's the result of a lot of hard work. The overall classification wasn't a goal at the start of this Tour. I'm proud of the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team, the staff and my teammates. We fought like lions.

Laurent Pichon

Sport director

Stage 19 of the Tour de France arrived in La Plagne. It started quickly, as it has done since the beginning of the competition. Kevin Vauquelin was perfectly supported by Raúl García Pierna and Ewen Costiou in the Col du Pré, but unfortunately they lost ground on the descent. They rode hard to try to limit the gaps until the foot of the climb to La Plagne. Kevin then delivered a long individual time trial. He fought hard, but Johannessen overtook him in the overall standings. However, Kevin passed Primoz Roglic, which means he retains his 7th place in the provisional overall classification of the Tour de France. It's a great reward for all the effort put in by the whole team on Friday. We're not giving up, but we're not getting carried away either, as there's still a hilly stage to come on Saturday before we reach Paris.

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