BOLOGNA – The two faces of a success. The profound one of Kevin Vauquelin and the almost “habitual” one of Tadej Pogačar. The first is the smile of someone who seeks a stage victory and succeeds. The second is that of someone who is trying to win the Tour de France and he takes the yellow jersey after a test... because it was a test. In Bologna, then, a smile for both of them, but a very different smile.
A Norman in Bologna
Kevin Vauquelin, 23, from Bayeux, Normandy. He is chasing his dream of participating in the Tour de France. But it soon becomes clear during the season that inArkea-B&B Hotels There's a spot for him at the Grande Boucle. First in the Etoile de Besseges time trial, second in the Flèche Wallonne, and an excellent consistency of performance.
"We were at the Tour to try to win a stage," said Arkea's sports director, Didier Rous, under attack from French journalists. "And we did it. It's our first big victory».
Certainly this team, the smallest among the WorldTours, is making its way among the giants. Let's not forget also the second place of Luca Mozzato to Flanders.
Clarity and legs
“I knew that moving there would be a good move,” Vauquelin said, “because Abrahamsen and Oliveira are two good riders. On the first San Luca I felt good, I was almost about to attack, but it was too far away. I knew this finish, I've already raced here in the Giro dell'Emilia and I remembered the climb by heart."
Kevin Vauquelin is thus the king of Bologna. He talks about his victory with joy, but also with composure and clarity. The same clarity he displayed throughout the stage. Always cautious, second on all the categorized climbs except the last one, where he rode alone. Up to that point he hadn't spent a drop of energy more than necessary. And once he landed the blow, he managed time and space with the wisdom of a time-watcher.
"I realized I really could win," he continues, "when I was on the crest of the second pass on the San Luca and I felt the gap was good and that my legs were still pushing hard. There, with the climb behind me, I knew I just had to keep pushing."
«I don't realize it yet, it's crazy. It's the best victory of my career And to think that last night after the first stage I wasn't at all happy. Today I started with a vengeful spirit. I told myself that the wheel would turn in my favor."
It's a duel right away
The roads leading the Tour de France from Romagna to Emilia are scorching. Luckily there is a bit of wind to cool the “radiators”. And the crowds are also warm. There are so many on every climb, on the San Luca and Bologna. We even climbed up some columns to see the passages.
It's the roar in the ears that they also talked about Julius Ciccone and Tadej Pogacar, who after a dry Tour returns to wear yellow. A yellow more fortuitous than desired. He came to "take the temperature" of jonas vingegaard to understand if the Dane really wasn't at the top.
«It was a good day for us – said the CEO of UAE Emirates, Mauro Gianetti – We had a great team with four riders who arrived in the first group. The idea was to see how the others were doing and we saw what we expected and that is that Vingegaard is in excellent condition, otherwise he wouldn't have been here in France as captain.
«Tomorrow there is a stage for sprinters and we must not think about the jersey, but The day after tomorrow is a tough, prestigious stage, and if you want to win the Tour, you have to be at the front. I believe there are few tactics to be used. Today we saw Tadej attack and Vingegaard get into the wheel effortlessly».
The yellow of yellow
So the attack took place. Pogacar said that with the great heat, his historical enemy, he did not feel like squeezing the team, Also because the breakaway in front was strong and holding it back would have been truly costly. So his was truly a test attack. A dart. And in the end, what emerged was what everyone more or less expected: The Tour will still be a two-way affair. Or rather, it has two beacons, because the others are not far away at all.
Today's ending seemed strange to us, not in line with Pogacar's killer attitude. In the sprint it almost seemed like he wanted to get away. As if he didn't even want the yellow jersey. Or maybe because after a sensational gap on the San Luca he saw a strong recovery from behind. Remco Evenepoel e Richard Carapaz. And maybe he's lost that verve.
And in fact Pogacar himself, behind the scenes (here the video), while he was on the rollers, he high-fives Remco and asks him: "It's you in yellow, yes?" The Belgian looks at him a little confused and Tadej continues: "I tried to leave an opening", so that someone else could take it.
So, should we call it mission accomplished or mission failed? It's a nice "yellow" when you take the yellow jersey... without meaning to!
Gianetti satisfied
«This ending was a bit strange, but I haven't spoken to Tadej yet – Gianetti told us off the cuff – so I don't know exactly how he got back up. But I think he did a great job trying to gain some time, understand how all the opponents for the general classification were doing.
«I was struck by Evenepoel's beautiful return with Carapaz. Of course, Tadej didn't find much support from Vingegaard, Aside from a couple of times he passed him on the downhill, which probably could have been an advantage for the two of them. Who knows, Vingegaard probably thinks his only rival is Tadej. But that's Jonas's style. He's always raced this way, trying to put the pressure on Tadej and also the burden of the work. It's part of the game. It's everyone's tactics.
«One thing is certain: we have the yellow jersey and the information we wantedWe knew the first two stages were challenging and that we'd already have a more comprehensive view of everyone's fitness. That's fine."
