Kévin Vauquelin Loses Time in Tour de France Team Time Trial

Kévin Vauquelin's 2026 Tour de France got off to an unlucky start in Barcelona as the 2025 seventh-place finisher suffered a puncture in the opening team time trial. The Frenchman raced as part of Netcompany Ineos's eight-man squad over a 19.6km course, with the British team performing well, surpassing all competitors through three checkpoints before the finish. However, in the latter part of the stage, Vauquelin's rear tyre deflated, and with no opportunity to stop and change wheels, he fell behind his teammates with just over 5km remaining.

Egan Bernal, the 2019 Tour winner, also had a disappointing day, losing contact with his Ineos teammates before the finish. Despite these setbacks, there was some good news for Netcompany Ineos. Filippo Ganna led into the final climb before setting off on his own, finishing with a provisional fastest time of 21:55, which was nearly 30 seconds faster than any other team at that point, including Alpecin-Premier Tech, who were the previous leaders.

Vauquelin crossed the line 1:06 behind Ganna, losing valuable time on the first day of the race. "It was a tough one, really, with Kévin's puncture," said Netcompany Ineos director of racing Geraint Thomas after the stage. "He was our guy to finish off. He was the one that was going to – well, he was sitting on to sort of save the legs for that last effort. The way the boys responded to that was really good to see. Pippo – fair play to him.

"We wanted him to empty the tank by the top of the first climb, and he had to finish it off, you know. Fossey as well. All the boys adapted to it. But as I said earlier today, you have your plan and it'll never go to plan. It's how you adapt to it.

"It's just a shame to lose Kévin with that puncture. I feel for him, he hasn't had much luck this year, but it's the way it is, and I think everyone did what they could in the moment."

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