'It wouldn't have been my strategy': Vauquelin frustrated as Ineos wait for Onley in Dauphiné TTT

Netcompany-Ineos had led through the two intermediate checks, but they would finish the 28km stage in second place, nine seconds behind Visma | Lease a Bike, after they slowed to allow Onley to latch back on.

Onley dropped his chain with a shade over 9km of the stage remaining, and Vauquelin could be seen raising an arm in frustration when he and his teammates received a radio order to wait for the Scot.

The stage was run off according to so-called ‘Paris-Nice rules,’ with each rider timed individually, and Vauquelin and Onley would prove to be the strongmen of the Netcompany-Ineos effort, dropping their remaining teammates on the final kick to the line.

“It’s a bit of a disappointment because we wanted to win and we had a mechanical problem, so that’s certainly not the best way to lose, so to speak,” Vauquelin told CyclingPro.net afterwards.

“I think we were up there physically. We did a good time trial, so I think there are still positives to take away even if there wasn’t a win at the end of it.”

As well as chasing stage victory with his team, Vauquelin was hoping to move into the yellow jersey of race leader, and the time lost waiting for Onley might well have cost him the privilege. Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) limited his losses on Netcompany-Ineos to 20 seconds to retain the yellow jersey, 12 seconds clear of Vauquelin and Onley.

“It’s a bit complicated because it was a very delicate situation as we were going at 80kph,” Vauquelin said. “If we wait for someone, whether they’re supposedly strong or not, we lose a huge amount of time. As some commentators have pointed out, we might have lost 15 or 20 seconds, because you lose an enormous amount of time going from 80kph down to 55kph and then back up to 80kph, it’s really enormous. 

“I think that wouldn’t have been my strategy. We’ll have a debrief with the team afterwards and see how things go.”

Despite his frustration at losing out on the yellow jersey, Vauquelin struck a positive note about the Netcompany-Ineos effort, particularly given that they lost Sam Watson to a mechanical issue early in their effort.

Josh Tarling played a huge role in keeping his GC leaders in contention ahead of the short, sharp climb to the finish, which Onley, Vauquelin and Carlos Rodríguez began together. The performance was in keeping with their winning effort at Paris-Nice in March, and they will hope to replicate a similar display in the opening team time trial at the Tour de France in Barcelona on July 4.

“We’re showing that we’re working hard, that we’re working well and that we’re a tight-knit team,” Vauquelin said. “I think it’s quite positive for the next efforts.”