Despite having his best year of his cycling career and finishing fourth at this year’s Tour de France, Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) says he is too old to win the event. The 32 year old surprised everyone by holding onto the leaders yellow jersey throughout the mountainous stages of the race, finally only giving it up it on stage nineteen, atop Alpe-d'Huez.
“I did not expect it before the Tour but during the mountain stages I said to myself that the competitors have two legs just like me,” Voeckler told procycling.no.
The tenacious Frenchman is regarded as one of the most attacking riders in the peloton, thanks to his aggressive racing style, but when asked if he is going to change his training pattern and target the general classification in his home tour next year, he said that he’d stick with what he knows best. “I'm not going to change my exercise routine, it has worked well so far.
“I can manage to get onto the podium or I can finish fifteenth next year but I won’t win the Tour de France, I am too old.”
Voeckler had indicated after the Tour that he would target the season in a different way in order to peak for the Tour, so it is not certain what has changed his mind.
The former French champion holds out more hope for team-mate Pierre Rolland, who also surprised many during the race. The 24 year old was previously earmarked as a future star but had a quiet period; he turned things around in July by winning the stage up Alpe-d'Huez and taking the young rider classification.
“We expected a lot from him for three years and he confirmed in this year's Tour what he is capable of,” said Voeckler. “It will be difficult to win the next couple of years but if we look four to five years into the future, I think that we have a French Tour de France champion again.”
Both men will remain on Europcar next season with Rolland having said previously that the team expects nothing of him until the race in July next year. He’ll build everything towards being at his best there while, it seems, Voeckler will continue chasing results earlier in the season.