Tour's Comeback Kid

By James Startt
 
Luz Ardiden, France (Bicycling.com): Upon crossing the finish line yesterday on Stage 12 of the Tour de France, Thomas Voeckler’s Europcar teammate threw an arm around him. Thomas smiled gently, as if to say he understood he’d once again done what few thought possible: He’d saved his yellow jersey on the first mountain day in this year’s race.
 
But really, should anyone be surprised?
 
Voeckler had already done what few expected on a separate occasion, in 2004—when he defended the yellow jersey for 10 days.
 
At the time, Voeckler was an unknown. But he demonstrated then that he was a fearless attacker and a resilient rider. Grabbing the yellow jersey on a rainy stage over France’s northern flatlands into Chartres, he defended it against all odds in the Pyrenees. Day in and day out, he’d get dropped on the climbs, only to catch back on. It was in the Alps, on the stage to Villard des Lans, where he finally handed his golden fleece over to Lance Armstrong.
 
This year, under similar circumstances, he again took control of the yellow jersey with the Pyrenees looming. “I really don’t think I will be able to hold on to the jersey to Luz Ardiden,” he said after the finish of Stage 11, his second day in the jersey. But yesterday on Stage 12 he did just that.
 
Despite his pessimism, he put his Europcar teammates on the front at the start of the stage in Cugnaux, just outside Toulouse, so that no breakaway would gather too much time.
 
As the day went on and the pace quickened, many contenders wilted, but not Voeckler. “Suddenly I saw a sign for 10 kilometers. And then I saw a sign for five kilometers. And I said, why not?”
 
While pre-race favorites such as Ivan Basso, Cadel Evans, Andy Schleck, and, finally, Frank Scheck all attacked, Voeckler simply rode within himself and remained in contact. He finished just 50 seconds behind stage winner, Samuel Sanchez of Spain. The yellow jersey was still Voeckler’s.
 
“What a surprise! A big surprise,” Voeckler said after the finish.
 
“All I can say is that the yellow jersey can really motivate. I learned this in 2004, but today was again the case. I know I’m not ridiculous in the mountains, but today was once again proof—wearing the yellow jersey really lets you dig deeper; it allows you to reach a different level of suffering. If this were some other race and I was just riding for 20th place, I’d never have been able to hurt like this. But with the yellow on your back it’s all different.”
 
Voeckler’s Europcar manager, Jean-Rene Bernadeau, told Bicycling before the start of Stage 11, just one day earlier, “You know, Thomas has accomplished everything he could hope. He’s won the French championships. He’s won stages in the Tour. And he has worn the yellow jersey. He is just happy, fulfilled. Everything else that comes along in his career is a bonus, a real cherry on the cake.”

Source: http://www.bicycling.com/tour-de-france/tour-features/return-comeback-kid

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