Kévin Vauquelin wins in Bologna!

BOLOGNA, ITALY - JUNE 30: Kevin Vauquelin of France and Team Arkea - B&B Hotels celebrates at finish line as stage winner during the 111th Tour de France 2024, Stage 2 a 199.2km stage from Cesenatico to Bologna / #UCIWT / on June 30, 2024 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Tim de Waele/Getty Images)

NewsJun 30, 2024

World Team TeamTour de France

On his second day of racing in the Tour de France, 23-year-old Kévin Vauquelin won the second stage of the Grande Boucle, which finished in Bologna.

Photo : Getty Images

Kévin Vauquelin

It's incredible! Saturday was a difficult day for me. I was at the bottom of the bucket. I wasn't doing well in the Tour of Switzerland. I've had a lot of disappointments in recent weeks, and to manage to win today... Wow! I'm happy, it's the perfect day. From the blackboard. I'd like to thank Cristián Rodríguez (4th in the stage). This success is also his because he led the breakaway and was in control. When the three of us went out with Nelson Oliveira and Jonas Abrahamsen, I knew that I had the advantage of being more plunchy than them in the climb. I was familiar with the San Luca climb, having ridden it in the Giro dell'Emilia. It's a climb I really like (laughs)! I believed in it late on, but I was wary. I gave it my all right up to the end. My dream was already to take part in the Tour de France. Today, I'm delighted to win this race on the second day of my first participation. I've also won the first stage of the Tour de France for the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team, and I'm proud and happy to be able to offer this first bouquet to the team and its General Manager, Emmanuel Hubert. This success is the crowning achievement of everyone's hard work, from the staff to the riders, whom I would like to thank.

Yvon Ledanois

Sports Director

This victory is a real satisfaction because the riders were involved and respected the instructions and the message that had been given. It was a great day, and now the Tour de France has only just begun. We all need to stay involved, staff and riders alike.

Didier Rous

Sports Manager

Yvon Ledanois and Sébastien Hinault and I told the riders this morning not to dwell on the negative message sent out the day before on the first stage. We reminded them that although we had suffered in the early stages, we had to keep looking ahead because the race was still long and the breakaways at the start of the Grand Tours often had a chance of going all the way. Kévin won solo with style but his victory was a collective one. We mustn't forget the work done behind the scenes by everyone, especially the staff who work behind the scenes. Tonight, it was the work of an entire group united and wanting to go in the same direction that paid off. Kévin was very strong today, but Cristián was very important in our quest for victory. It's a victory for the whole ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team. I'm not forgetting that this is only the second day of the Tour de France. We still have many stages to go. We're going to enjoy this success for a while, but from Monday, on the third stage, we'll be focusing on the race again, because there are other great things to do

Emmanuel Hubert

General Manager

Winning the Tour de France is really satisfying and a great moment to experience. Thanks to Kévin Vauquelin, a young rider in the making, the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team has won its first stage in the Tour de France, and quite simply in a Grand Tour. Kévin still has some work to do, because he's not yet where we want to be together. Winning the Tour is never easy, but tonight we can all say that together, staff and riders, with Kévin at the end, we have opened a new page in the history of the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team.

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