Don’t forget Voeckler

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A lot happened in the Tour today. Some was pretty grim business. This was not.

Thomas Voeckler took yellow today. Nice work from Petit Blanc.

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Image source: http://codeofthecog.tumblr.com/post/7471169039/frenchys-in-yellow-im-super-super-super.

“I really didn’t think I’d have it a second time in my career. In 2004, people said that the peloton let me take the yellow jersey. Today I went out and went for it.”

http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/07/news/thomas-voeckler-takes-lead-in-2011-tour-de-france-as-luis-leon-sanchez-wins-stage-9_183003.

Way back in 2004, young Tommy Voeckler had ten glorious days in yellow. It was fantastic. His suffering to stay in yellow for just one more day, and then just one more day again, and for just one more day again. It was a story in courage. I’ve been a fan of his ever since. Yeah, me and most of France.

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The music in that vid may be a bit much, but it shows just how tenuous his grasp on that famed tunic was. May of those that finished in front of him in the mountains of 2004 have now been discredited, convicted, banned, shunned, marginalized or exiled. Thomas Voeckler remains. It is good to see him in yellow again.

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About big jonny

The man, the legend. The guy who started it all back in the Year of Our Lord Beer, 2000, with a couple of pages worth of idiotic ranting hardcoded on some random porn site that would host anything you uploaded, a book called HTML for Dummies (which was completely appropriate), a bad attitude (which hasn’t much changed), and a Dell desktop running Win95 with 64 mgs of ram and a six gig hard drive. Those were the days. Then he went to law school. Go figure. Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

13 Replies to “Don’t forget Voeckler”

  1. Fuck yea. When I saw footage of the crash from today’s stage, I instinctively said to myself “I’m glad Voeckler made it through unscathed.” so I guess I’m a fan too. He’s a proletarian champ in my book.

  2. Last winter, when Bernaudeau lost Bbox support, Ti blanc didn’t let him down.
    He had proposal from Cofidis. But he stood till last minute’s Europcar’s offer.
    Off the bike, he’s a “Monsieur” too. A Baller as you say.

  3. When Voeckler took yellow in ’04 my first thought was “that pansy-ass dude is in yellow??” And then for 10 days he made my eat my words. Tough ass guy. Good on ya, Tommy. Hold on tight to that golden fleece and stay upright

  4. better racing this year because the playing field is more “level”? just wishful thinking?

  5. There’s a little bit of Poulidor in the way TV rides: attack from the peloton at 3km when the sprinters’ teams are all set at the front? Why the fuck not? Start an early breakaway on a stage that’s got bunch sprint or climbers’ paradise written all over it? Why the fuck not? You might get reeled in nine times out of ten, but the tenth is your stage victory or yellow jersey. It’s a bit rustic, and won’t win a grand tour, but you’ll never say “Voeckler makes cycling look effortless”, and that’s why he’s great to watch.

    Flecha’s a bit like that too.

  6. Who ever said that a cyclists in yellow are slow!?! Voeckler has definitely changed that perception. This man rides with so much SOUL that it forms his own personal slip-stream! Got to love the guy!

  7. I’ve been a fan ever since seeing him raise and clench that fist back in ’04 when The Uniballer thought for sure he had the yellow on his back and Voeckler held on to it again and again. Good on him.