CEBU, Philippines - There is no grittier rider in the Tour de France when Thomas Voeckler is around. This little Frenchman is a “rouleur”, a sort of jack-of-all-trades but a master of none. This means he is an average sprinter, average climber and average time-triallist but with an above average heart.
In 2004, he wore the yellow jersey for 10 days, defending his lead in terrain not suited to his abilities. Sometimes, it would seem that he would give up the leadership but in the end, he would somehow find a way of holding on to it and preventing Lance Armstrong from getting it until the very end. Then last year, he did it again, this time against Cadel Evans.
His attacking, never say die attitude has earned him a god-like status from cycling fans but not from the peloton. They don’t like his attacking ways since it upsets team strategies.
Yesterday, the rider called “Petit Blanc” due to his small stature and pale complexion won the 10th stage in a breakaway. In the last few hundred meters, you could see that everyone was so tired that the finishing speed was so agonizingly slow. I could really feel the burning sensations in their legs and the pain in their faces. In the end, Voeckler’s tank had a few drops more than his rivals. Voila!
Team SKY has done a good job of controlling the peloton to keep Bradley Wiggins and the yellow jersey for another day. They chased down a dangerous Vincenzo Nibali and arrived home with no time lost and one less mountain stage before Paris.
However, the enemy was more after the race when media asked questions about the performance of Wiggins and doping. Wiggins, not a man who’s at a loss of words, told the media scrum, “I am not some shit rider who has come from nowhere.” This came after some Twitter folks came out comparing the dominance of SKY and US POSTAL, LA’s former team.
The Tour is the biggest event in cycling and the best way to have your issues heard is to make a splash about it this time. Come back after July and then you’ll hear nothing about it. (FREEMAN)