Yvon Caer: "The instructions were respected"
Kevin Vauquelin finishes 20th of the 1st stage of Paris-Nice in the Yvelines, which ended in a sprint.
Photo Arkéa-Samsic/ Aubin Lipke
On the line
“I passed this first stage without any problems, without taking any breaks. A good start. When the peloton broke away, I was in the leading group that broke away. I was the last rider to return. The goal was really not to get trapped. I was a little bit blocked in the bump, but I still managed to make the jump. The condition is there. I want to thank all my team-mates. Matîs refereed me and guided me in the peloton during the whole stage, as did David, Dan and Thibault who unfortunately fell. Clément Champoussin was also with me in the final. Our sprinters worked a lot in my favour, they made efforts for me. This didn’t allow them to make the sprint, but the main thing is assured, this evening we didn’t lose any time in the general classification”.
The debrief
“This first stage was a nervous one in the end, as we had planned. The objective was for Kevin to be protected, and always placed by all his team-mates. This was the case. The instructions given were respected by all the Arkéa-Samsic team riders. Kevin was able to follow the best when the peloton broke up and twenty-seven riders went to the front, thanks to the work done beforehand by his team-mates. I salute their work. The sprinters worked at a certain moment to preserve Kevin’s interests in their entirety, giving up our objective. It was achieved this evening. The big drawback was Thibault’s fall in the final, he finished this stage. We are now waiting for the medical assessment that will be carried out by the medical staff following this fall”.