"You're faster than Vingegaard. You're faster than Matteo Jorgenson. Go boy!" was the encouragement shouted across the Arkéa-B&B Hotels team radio and projected for the world to see on Eurosport for Kévin Vauquelin during the opening third of the 33km individual time trial on stage 5 of the Tour de France.
Clad in a white-and-black skinsuit as the best young rider in the race, the 24-year-old Frenchman finished fifth in Caen, just 49 seconds behind stage winner Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), and 33 seconds back of second-placed Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG).
"I had no legs left, but still had heart and lungs, I'm over the moon," was the reaction from the young French rider at the finish line when he spoke to France TV, the crowd cheering loudly for a homegrown contender.
While the World and Olympic champion in the discipline used his victory on the stage to displace the Frenchman from the youth classification lead, Vauquelin gained two spots in the overall standings and into a podium position. He and Evenepoel are now the only two riders within a minute of the new race leader Pogačar.
Vauquelin grew up in Bayeux, just 30 kilometres from Caen, where the start ramp and the finish line were located for the stage. He received the loudest cheers from the large crowds gathered in the city centre.
"It's the emotion that takes over, a time trial, on my home turf, with a distinctive jersey, it was incredible," he said after his ride in a team statement.
The time trial performance was no fluke. This season he used a time trial victory on stage 5 of Etoile de Bessèges to secure the overall title, and backed that up later with a solid GC win at Région Pays de la Loire Tour and second overall at Tour de Suisse.
He won both the French junior and U23 ITT titles before signing as a pro in 2022 with Arkéa-B&B Hotels. In his second season with the French team, he lined up at his first Tour de France and on the second stage into Bologna, Italy he rode solo to the surprise victory.
This year he was on the attack in the Monts du Boulonnais stage 2 and secured the white jersey.
"Having a distinctive jersey on the Tour de France is exceptional, especially the white jersey which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. My aim is still to win a stage," he said in a team statement after finishing eighth on the 209.1km stage.
On Wednesday's time trial, Vauquelin had the seventh fastest split time at the first and third time checks, and then went faster on the largely flat course toward the finish, with 3km go go catching and passing Enric Mas (Movistar), who started two minutes ahead of him.
"All those fans, all that support... I'm in heaven. Thank you so much for all the emotions, I don't have the words. It's one of my best times. I pushed as hard as I could on the pedals, and it responded well. Sometimes people told me over the earpiece to drop a cog and I had the strength to do it," he said.
"I lost the white jersey unfortunately, but it's almost logical against Remco who is an Olympic champion and double world champion in the discipline. I'm enjoying every moment, my fan club will be on the side of the road tomorrow. Whatever happens, I'll be smiling throughout the whole stage, it will be memorable once again."
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