Étoile de Bessèges, Kevin Vauquelin: "Have fun and perform"
The Arkea-Samsic team will have two assets on the roads of the Étoile de Bessèges with Kevin Vauquelin and Thibault Guernalec.
Pre-race
“My goal will be to perform to the maximum. I like stage races, it’s the type of competition I feel better and better in. Bessèges has two days with profiles that could be interesting for me: the finish at Mont Bouquet. The other objective will be to achieve a good time in Alès, with the watchword being to enjoy myself, while trying to perform to the maximum. I don’t know the roads of this region, which is why, after the Arkea-Samsic team training camp, I went to reconnoitre the Mont Bouquet stage and the time trial in Alès”.
“I enjoy the Étoile de Bessèges with the finish at Mont Bouquet again this year. Anyone who puts his name to the prize list of this race is necessarily a complete rider. This so-called “mountain” stage also brings a lot more excitement. It is a maximum effort of fifteen minutes, intense. You never know on the first day what role the wind might play, so you have to be vigilant from the start of the race. The time trial in Alès is also always interesting. The Étoile de Bessèges is also the way to make a first assessment of the winter work. In short, I am always very motivated by the Étoile de Bessèges.
The briefing
“The Étoile de Bessèges is traditionally the first stage race of the year organised in France. What makes it special is the finish at Mont Bouquet and the final timed stage in Alès. We have two riders who can do well in this competition, namely Kévin Vauquelin and Thibault Guernalec, who are capable of negotiating the punchy finishes and who are also good rouleurs. We will therefore have great ambitions and the goal will be to get as close as possible to victory, even if we know from experience that the race can reveal traps and that the competition is always strong in Bessèges”.