Originally from Normandy, Kévin Vauquelin started cycling in the UC Tilly-Val de Seulles club (Calvados), before joining the Caen cycling hopefuls pole. He then joined the VC Rouen 76 club, despite a stint at Chambéry FC (today the development team of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale). Like many riders in the professional peloton, he is now based in the South-East of France, in Gaude, 10 km from Nice. An ideal terrain for its climatic conditions and the variety of training grounds.
He was a four-time world medalist among juniors on the track
Vauquelin is a former track cyclist, and he particularly distinguished himself in the youth categories. He won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships in 2018, then three medals the following year, in the team pursuit, the American and the points race. He finally decided to stop the track to concentrate solely on the road but remained an excellent roller.
It was Golden Bike hopefuls
From his junior and espoir years, Kévin Vauquelin had already made a name for himself with his results. He was French time trial champion in juniors (2018) and espoirs (2021), confirming his great qualities as a rouleur, but also road champion in juniors (2019). But he had also shown himself on more mountainous terrain, notably in the junior Alps classic, with some great places of honor won. The culmination of his years with the youth: a Golden Vélo espoirs in 2021, at the dawn of his professional career.
5
The number of Vauquelin’s professional victories, including those obtained in the 2024 Tour de France.
“The guy from Arkea” obtains 10 podiums for his first professional season
It was in 2022 that the Normand turned pro, within the Arkéa-Samsic team. For his first season, he obtained no less than 10 podiums, and came close to a first professional victory, notably in the Tour of Oman, which further revealed his abilities in the mountains. At the Circuit de la Sarthe – Pays de la Loire, he almost surprised Mads Pedersen in the sprint and the Dane discovered this big engine without necessarily knowing its name: “The guy from Arkea made a great attack, so I had to do a long sprint”, he admits. Vauquelin will nevertheless have to wait until 2023 and the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var to finally raise his arms among the professionals.
He missed the title of French time trial champion by 3 seconds
“I’ve had so many disappointments in the last few months,” he admitted on Sunday after his victory in Bologna. On June 20, just ten days ago, Kévin Vauquelin came very close to winning the time trial of the French Championships. The rider who was almost racing at home finished just three seconds behind the winner Bruno Armirail. Although he missed out on the tricolor jersey, these Championships allowed him to reassure himself about his form, which was confirmed on the second stage of the Tour de France.
