Kévin Vauquelin wins the ITT and secures the GC win

Race reportFeb 9, 2025

World Team TeamÉtoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard

Riding his brand new Bianchi Aquila RC, Kévin Vauquelin secured his overall victory in the Etoile de Bessèges by winning the traditional time trial in Alès.

Thibault Guernalec, 4th in this final stage, finished 5th overall.

Kévin Vauquelin

This victory in the overall classification and in the time trial are very satisfying results, both personally and for the ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team. I had quite a big lead in the overall classification this morning, so it gave me a good idea of what to expect on this final stage. It's a reward for all the hard work I've put in all week and over the winter. I had a bit of revenge to take here on the Etoile de Bessèges, after a special week and a very trying day yesterday. To finish like that is really good. I'm pleased to have inaugurated the Bianchi Aquila RC time trial bike in such a good way, with this success. Thibault Guernalec also set a good time, so those are obviously positive signs. It shows that it's a fast bike. I really enjoyed riding it today. It bodes well for the rest of the season.

Thibault Guernalec

My main objective for the week was to win the overall classification of the Étoile de Bessèges through Kévin Vauquelin. With all the ups and downs we've been through, I also wanted to do well in the general classification. It did me good to do the ascent of Mont Bouquet at full speed, to redo things I'd done before. It's good for my head for what's to come. We have a new time trial bike developed by Bianchi which is great. It saves an incredible amount of time compared to the old model. It's bound to pull everyone up. The Bianchi engineers have done a great job. We had no doubt about it, we'd already tested it in the wind tunnel and now we can see how it performs in the race: it's a victory!

Yvon Ledanois

Sports Director

Winning the overall classification of the Étoile de Bessèges was the objective I set myself before setting off. It's good to have achieved it. Now we need to keep up the momentum. We've got a big season ahead of us. We have a very good ARKEA-B&B HOTELS team, as we've seen all week. Kévin Vauquelin is a leader who is always there. He needs to keep up this momentum because it's going to be a long season. Coming back to this Sunday's time trial in Alès, I'm also pleased to see that Thibault Guernalec was there (4th in the stage, editor's note). He was motivated yesterday after Mont Bouquet and finished 5th overall. I'm really happy for him. And on the subject of equipment, we ‘christened’ our new Bianchi Aquila RC time trial bike with a victory. The feedback from the riders is very positive. It's also a good thing for the future.

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