Kévin Vauquelin’s impressive race at La Flèche Wallonne has firmly placed him among the favourites for Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The Frenchman pulled away from riders such as Tom Pidcock, Ben Healy and Remco Evenepoel to take second place behind Tadej Pogačar.
In the last four editions of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, three French riders have climbed onto the podium: Julian Alaphilippe (second in 2021), David Gaudu (third in 2021), and Romain Bardet (second in 2024).
Vauquelin, who celebrated his 24th birthday on Saturday, looks to be the best hope to continue that streak. He is approaching La Doyenne with the same mindset he showed at La Flèche Wallonne.
“That is to just really race as you should and with desire, and then we'll see what the result will be, but really no regrets before crossing the line,” the Arkéa-B&B Hotels rider told Cycling Pro Net.
In the past, the decisive moves were initiated on Côte de la Redoute inside of 34km to go, but now it seems that it is almost too late to launch an attack with riders such as Pogačar and Evenepoel in the mix.
“I think that there is more desire to start from further back, to get a head start. Once the great champions put their first acceleration on,… these are special races, very demanding. It's easy to make plans, but it's harder to make them happen,” Vauquelin said.
“Often, it's a steamroller before the big attacks, so it's always difficult to anticipate the moves."
Another propect for France is 22-year-old Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) who finished in seventh place in both the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne. The winner of 2022 Liège-Bastogne-Liège Espoirs is aiming for a top 5 finish on Sunday.
“I already felt pretty good in the Amstel Gold Race, and I was even better at La Flèche Wallonne. So, the form is improving for Sunday.
"Even if there are two or three riders who are above the rest and who are competing in another league, I think we are pretty even in the group below them. So, there is a way to do something good and get a big result, especially with the team we have here, which is ultra solid.”
And, while Vauquelin and Grégoire are still in the early years of their career, compatriot Bardet (Picnic-PostNL) will be racing his 11th and final Liège-Bastogne-Liège, a race that saw him stand on the podium twice: third in 2018 and second last year.
“It’s my last Monument”, the 34-year-old said. “I was very happy with my race last year and I wanted to give myself one last shot at a race that I really love before ending my career halfway through the season.”
