Rising French star Kévin Vauquelin has his sights on wearing the yellow jersey at the Tour de France in 2026 as he kicks off his first season with Ineos Grenadiers with big ambitions.
Still only 24, Vauquelin – who moves to Ineos from Arkea-B&B Hotels – has been discovering himself as a rider over the last seasons, and despite some impressive one-day results, is keen to focus on general classification efforts going forward.
Currently at training camp with Ineos in Spain, with the team setting out their goals of returning to the top step of the Tour, Vauquelin explained in an interview with L'Equipe how he's settled on focusing on GC.
"I had to see what I preferred: attacking everywhere to win stages or spending three weeks being very focused," he explained about his mission to define his rider type and goals.
"For now, I feel like I'm on the right track, aiming for the overall classification. Anyway, every rider dreams of winning the Tour de France, so I have to keep going."
Having had an impressive outing at the Tour this year, which included finishing seventh overall, a stint in the white jersey and several top 10s, Vauquelin's next wish is to spend at least some time in the yellow jersey, after coming as close as third on GC at points this year.
"This summer I experienced something so extraordinary thanks to the fans that I want to go back. And now the dream is the yellow jersey," he told L'Equipe.
"I missed it by a whisker [in 2025], that really annoyed me, and now I want to get my revenge. I've had the white jersey, the fervour of the fans, a stage win [in 2024], a top 10 in the general classification... But I haven't had that yellow jersey for even one day. That's the dream."
After his impressive Tour, Vauquelin did not race again in 2025, due to breaking his ankle falling down the stairs at home shortly after the Tour, and eventually undergoing surgery.
Despite a disappointing end to his summer, he'd done enough to attract the attention of Ineos Grenadiers, signing for the British team on a three-year contract, and has been working on his return to action through physiotherapy.
"It's going well, the hard work is starting to pay off," he said. I've been working a lot with physiotherapists, doing strength training. It's perhaps a new learning experience, actually, it allows me to train better.
"Running is still difficult, but I have no problem cycling. I just need to take it easy. As Dave Brailsford rightly tells me, I need to take my time."
Though Vauquelin is still on the path back to full strength, and Ineos seem to be happy investing in his long-term future rather than quick results, the Frenchman is keen to get going in 2026, hoping for a good Paris-Nice and another Tour call-up, he told L'Equipe.
New Director of Racing Geraint Thomas was keen to say that the team aren't going to "assume he'll just pick up right where he was" before his injury, but does see success in Vauquelin's future.
"It’s incredibly exciting to have him with us, he’s a huge talent," Thomas said to L'Equipe. "I really want to help him reach his full potential."
With Vauquelin now fully immersed in the team, getting used to the new environment and English-speaking set-up, he was buoyed by the praise from his new boss.
"I saw that. It's great to hear," he said of Thomas' comments. "Maybe he sees a bit of himself in me when I was younger because we're both good time trialists, we both did track cycling, I made my Tour de France debut in a similar way... And we can relate to each other in our way of thinking and working.
"He's definitely going to be a great asset, such an experienced rider with a great track record and his own unique approach... It's motivating, and I'm really glad he said that."
