Vauquelin clinches fourth at Paris-Nice

Kevin Vauquelin came home in fourth place on the final day of Paris-Nice to clinch the same position overall.

The Frenchman crossed the line as part of a chasing group of GC contenders on his local roads in Nice, after the race split apart on the Cote de Linguador.

The INEOS Grenadiers had upped the pace on the previous climb, the Cote de Chateauneuf-Villevielle, with Michal Kwiatkowski and Josh Tarling helping to thin out the group. Carlos Rodriguez was able to support Vauquelin up until the major split, caused by race leader Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike).

The Dane finished second on the stage in a near-photo finish with Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), but was able to secure overall victory by four minutes and 23 seconds. Vauquelin’s group crossed the line just seven seconds behind the stage winner, with the INEOS Grenadier wrapping up a strong GC finish.

In addition to two stage victories, a strong performance across the eight stages also led to victory in the Team GC by over three minutes.

Reaction

Kevin Vauquelin: "It's been a good week for the team. We've ridden strongly together and we overcame a lot of things during the race. We had two crashes for Oscar (Onley) and then Oscar left the race. We also had Carlos (Rodriguez) crash, but we kept on and I targeted the GC. We were on the front today and I think we have improved a lot from the Algarve. I'm really happy here in this team. 

"For sure [my favourite moment was] the TTT. It's crazy when you win by just two seconds. With all the team involved it's a really big emotion, for the whole team - the staff and riders. 

"It's been a good start but there is lots more to improve on and in training with my coach. We are going in a good way, trusting the process and I want to continue to do better in my next races."