Thomas Voeckler

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**Thomas Voeckler**
Personal information

Full name	Thomas Voeckler
Nickname	petit blanc, le chouchou
Date of birth	June 22, 1979 (age 27)
Country	France
Height	1.77 m
Weight	66 kg
Team information
Current team	Bouygues Télécom
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Climbing specialist
Professional team(s)
2001-2002 2003-2004 2005-	Bonjour Brioches La Boulangere Bouygues Télécom
Major wins
French National Championship Road Race Tour de Luxembourg Paris-Bourges Paris-Nice, Mountains classification

Infobox last updated on:
March 18, 2007

Thomas Voeckler (born June 22, 1979 in Schiltigheim, France) is a professional road bicycle racer since 2001. He rides for Bouygues Télécom (formerly known as Brioches la Boulangère and Bonjour), and is primarily a climber. He comes from the Alsace region (later moved to Martinique), where he was nicknamed "petit blanc" due to his small stature and pale complexion. He is considered by many to be France's sweetheart (le chouchou) because of his young looks and his habit to stick out his tongue, even when on stage.

In 2003, Voeckler captured two stages and the overall title in the Tour de Luxembourg.

While wearing the French National Champion jersey in the 2004 Tour de France, he earned the maillot jaune after escaping with five other riders in the particularly bad weather conditions of the fifth stage, gaining significant time against the rest of the peloton. He defended his jersey valiantly for ten days, under much media attention, until he lost it to Lance Armstrong in stage 15 (Valréas - Villard-de-Lans) in the French Alps. He survived through the Pyreneean climbs with his jersey, retaining only seconds over eventual winner Armstrong. He then also lost the white jersey (le maillot blanc, for best youth under 25) to Vladimir Karpets. However he was already considered a national hero.

The 2005 season was a particularly busy one for Voeckler, as he was made to race in many races, even those that are widely considered not suitable for his style of riding. He did not enjoy the same level of success that he did in the 2004 season, although he participated in many UCI ProTour races, and did not play a significant role in the 2005 Tour de France. His only win in 2005 came in Stage 3 of the Four Days of Dunkirk.

In 2006 he won a 5th stage in Vuelta al País Vasco. At the Dauphiné Libéré, Voeckler finished second on Stage 1 and captured the "King of the Mountains" jersey for the next day in the process. He also won the 2006 edition of Paris-Bourges.

[edit] Major results

2007

1st, Mountains classification, Paris-Nice

2006

1st, Paris-Bourges
1st, Stage 5, Vuelta al País Vasco
2nd, Stage 1, Dauphiné Libéré

2005

1st, Stage 3, Four Days of Dunkirk

2004

18th Overall, Tour de France
- Maillot jaune (Stage 5-14)
- Maillot blanc (Stage 15-18)
France National Cycling Championships Road Race

2003

1st, Overall, Tour de Luxembourg (and two stage wins)

[edit] External links

Cyclingnews interview during the 2004 Tour de France.

Riders on Bouygues Télécom
Julien Belgy \| Giovanni Bernaudeau \| Olivier Bonnaire \| Franck Bouyer \| Laurent Brochard \| Dimitri Champion \| Mathieu Claude \| Stef Clement \| Aurélien Clerc \| Nicolas Crosbie \| Pierre Drancourt \| Pierrick Fédrigo \| Andy Flickinger \| Xavier Florencio \| Yohann Gene \| Anthony Geslin \| Saïd Haddou \| Vincent Jerome \| Arnaud Labbe \| Yoann Le Boulanger \| Laurent Lefevre \| Rony Martias \| Alexandre Pichot \| Jérôme Pineau \| Erki Pütsep \| Franck Renier \| Didier Rous \| Matthieu Sprick \| Johann Tschopp \| Thomas Voeckler
Manager
Jean-René Bernaudeau