Tommy Voeckler Discussion thread

[Michielveedeebee]

if the peloton dont like voeckler well hell i do then.

Anyone who swims against the omerta is good guy in my book.

+1000000000000

 

[Benotti69]

Voeckler gave an interview saying that this will probably be his best ever TdF performance as he is now 32 and a lot of the favourites crashed out and next year it might be better for Rolland. Lack of ego and a nice dose of reality.

 

[Mrs John Murphy]

If the peloton dont like Voeckler well hell i do then.

anyone who swims against the omerta is good guy in my book.

Yep. Being hated by Kloeden ought to be a badge of honour.

That said Voeckler didn't punch any fans, or threaten to rip anyone's head off either, didn't say that he wanted to see anyone raped, didn't resort to homophobic comments about his rivals, didn't cry about an anti-French conspiracy.

 

[Cobblestones]

Voeckler gave an interview saying that this will probably be his best ever TdF performance as he is now 32 and a lot of the favourites crashed out and next year it might be better for Rolland. Lack of ego and a nice dose of reality.

I don't know whether it has been said already, but I really liked that the day where he lost the MJ, he let his superdomestique free reign to chase the stage victory and the white jersey instead of having him tow him up the Alpe. I think Thomas is a class act. If the peloton doesn't like him, it says more about the peloton than Voeckler. Omerta -1.

Also, viewing numbers in France apparently are way up because of him.

 

[bridgeman]

With the tour concluding, I'm looking forward to not having to hear the term "plucky" again.

 

[royalpig180]

In hindsight, Voeckler could easily have finished on the podium. Had he simply stayed with the group of Cuddles and F. Schleck on the Alpe d'Huez stage, where Frank hardly looked strong, he could easily have minimized time lost to either of them. He then took time out of both Schlecks in the ITT. He could have definitely been third had he not had his "yellow jersey or nothing" approach.

But then again, hindsight is 20:20...

 

[Mambo95]

If the peloton dont like Voeckler well hell i do then.

anyone who swims against the omerta is good guy in my book.

It's always about doping with you, isn't it?

They dislike him because he fakes being cooked in breakaways, missing turns, before attacking them. That will probably have changed in this Tour.

 

[MacRoadie]

milf housewifes on the street looking for that tongue

French MILF housewifes. THAT, my friends, spells win. No other argument needed.

Thomas Voeckler - 1

The rest of us - 0

 

[jazzcyclist]

I don't know if anyone else has brought this up on another thread, but what would have happened if that French TV car hadn't taken out Flecha and Hoogerland on stage 9? How big would Voeckler's race lead have been at the end of the day, if all five of the escapees had stayed together all the way to the end of the stage with all the extra horsepower that Flecha and Hoogerland would have provided? Furthermore, how much time did Voeckler and the other two remaining escapees lose by sitting up for several minutes to see if Flecha and Hoogerland would be able to rejoin them? Did that French TV car cost Voeckler one minute? Two minutes? With an extra two minute in hand, would Voeckler have felt the need to gain time on the descent into Pinerolo and end up losing 27 seconds to the Tour contenders after he overcooked a turn and ended up in an apartment parking lot? Also, with this extra time in hand, would he have panicked and chased when Contador and Schleck attacked on the Galibier climb during stage 19, or would he have fallen back to the comfort of the peleton and let BMC and his Europcar teammates do the work until they reached the base of Alpe D'Huez? I'm pretty sure that the French TV car cost Voeckler a podium spot, but did it cost him a Tour win as well?

 

[Benotti69]

I don't know if anyone else has brought this up on another thread, but what would have happened if that French TV car hadn't taken out Flecha and Hoogerland on stage 9? How big would Voeckler's race lead have been at the end of the day, if all five of the escapees had stayed together all the way to the end of the stage with all the extra horsepower that Flecha and Hoogerland would have provided? Furthermore, how much time did Voeckler and the other two remaining escapees lose by sitting up for several minutes to see if Flecha and Hoogerland would be able to rejoin them? Did that French TV car cost Voeckler one minute? Two minutes? With an extra two minute in hand, would Voeckler have felt the need to gain time on the descent into Pinerolo and end up losing 27 seconds to the Tour contenders after he overcooked a turn and ended up in an apartment parking lot? Also, with this extra time in hand, would he have panicked and chased when Contador and Schleck attacked on the Galibier climb during stage 19, or would he have fallen back to the comfort of the peleton and let BMC and his Europcar teammates do the work until they reached the base of Alpe D'Huez? I'm pretty sure that the French TV car cost Voeckler a podium spot, but did it cost him a Tour win as well?

Too many 'IFs'. If the peloton did not see what happened to Flecha and Hoogerland they may have chased till the end of the stage and caught Voeckler.

If Voeckler had a bigger lead from the stage, teams may have treated him as a bigger threat and done more to lose him on the mountains.

IF........

 

[greenedge]

I hope he can go on attacking at other races but from now on he won't be allowed so much freedom. Stupid media... destroying our Tommy.

 

[jazzcyclist]

Too many 'IFs'. If the peloton did not see what happened to Flecha and Hoogerland they may have chased till the end of the stage and caught Voeckler.

What do you mean the "may have chased till the end"? Garmin-Cervelo did everything they could to defend yellow and didn't give up until they realized it was a lost cause. From the stage report:

Garmin-Cervélo were by now working hard to defend Hushovd's yellow jersey. But inside the final 20km they realised his lead was gone and they let BMC and eventually Leopard Trek take over the pace-setting.

If Voeckler had a bigger lead from the stage, teams may have treated him as a bigger threat and done more to lose him on the mountains.

IF........

Are you suggesting that the yellow jersey contenders soft-pedaled in the mountains? You can't be serious. Did you forget what happened to Contador and Sanchez on the Galibier stage? Did you forget what happened to Contador and Voeckler on the Luz-Ardiden stage? Have you ever seen yellow jersey contenders ride as agressively as Contador and Schleck did on the Aple D'Huez stage? Was that not a very select group that he finished with on the Plateau de Beille stage which dropped Damiano Cunego? Come on man.

 

[Kellys Big Sprocket]

Diamonds are made from pressure and Tom is a wee gem. Thoroughly enjoyed following Tommys defence of the leaders jersey this year. A french lad leading his national Tour, its great. Its good for the event never mind for Tom and his sponsors. He went down fighting. It's what makes Le Tour, Le Tour. A great rider.

 

[Benotti69]

What do you mean the "may have chased till the end"? Garmin-Cervelo did everything they could to defend yellow and didn't give up until they realized it was a lost cause. From the stage report:

Garmin-Cervélo were by now working hard to defend Hushovd's yellow jersey. But inside the final 20km they realised his lead was gone and they let BMC and eventually Leopard Trek take over the pace-setting.

other teams could've ridden hard and helped Garmin. They chose not too. Why? They figured that no one in the break was a threat to overall no matter how much they time they got.

Are you suggesting that the yellow jersey contenders soft-pedaled in the mountains? You can't be serious. Did you forget what happened to Contador and Sanchez on the Galibier stage? Did you forget what happened to Contador and Voeckler on the Luz-Ardiden stage? Have you ever seen yellow jersey contenders ride as agressively as Contador and Schleck did on the Aple D'Huez stage? Was that not a very select group that he finished with on the Plateau de Beille stage which dropped Damiano Cunego? Come on man.

what i am suggesting is if you dont see Voeckler as a threat then he doesn't figure in your tatics. you expect him to be dropped on the big climbs, but he proved them wrong. their mistake and if he didn't have the 1 bad day he did maybe Frank Schleck would not have made the podium.

But this is as i said all big 'IFs'...........

 

[Havetts]

and if he didn't have the 1 bad day he did maybe Frank Schleck would not have made the podium.

I dont want to cherrypick but, the day to L'Alpe he didnt have a bad day.. He chose to keep on chasing and blowing himself up and going way too far in the red. If he wouldve stayed with Evans, or in the peloton he couldve stayed with them on L'Alpe.. Pure bad tactics by Voeckler nothing to do with having a bad day.

 

[jens_attacks]

I dont want to cherrypick but, the day to L'Alpe he didnt have a bad day.. He chose to keep on chasing and blowing himself up and going way too far in the red. If he wouldve stayed with Evans, or in the peloton he couldve stayed with them on L'Alpe.. Pure bad tactics by Voeckler nothing to do with having a bad day.

exactly.it was the most suicidal thing i've ever seen besides a guy that jumped from the tenth floor few years ago in front of me and amy lee in one of evanescence's videos.

even michele ferrari lol'd big time:
The Australian cyclist personally defended from the attacks of the climbers, limiting the damage in the Alpine stages, where we saw the tactical suicide by Voeckler, who persisted in chasing, alone, for more than 1 hour, Contador and Andy Schleck on the Telegraph and Galibier: had he waited the group with Evans and four (!) Europcar teammates, he would have probably been on the podium in Paris.

never seen something like this,why did you do it,tommy,why?

 

[Benotti69]

I dont want to cherrypick but, the day to L'Alpe he didnt have a bad day.. He chose to keep on chasing and blowing himself up and going way too far in the red. If he wouldve stayed with Evans, or in the peloton he couldve stayed with them on L'Alpe.. Pure bad tactics by Voeckler nothing to do with having a bad day.

cherrypick all you want. If Schleck and Contador had kept going and he caught them he may have won the tour. He gambled and lost. He played to win. How could he have known the Evans sat up and did'nt blow up.?

All 'IFs'......

 

[jazzcyclist]

I dont want to cherrypick but, the day to L'Alpe he didnt have a bad day.. He chose to keep on chasing and blowing himself up and going way too far in the red. If he wouldve stayed with Evans, or in the peloton he couldve stayed with them on L'Alpe.. Pure bad tactics by Voeckler nothing to do with having a bad day.

Good point! He had a dumb day, not a bad day.

 

[jazzcyclist]

How could he have known the Evans sat up and did'nt blow up.?

All 'IFs'......

Race radios? His D.S. tried to get him to wait for the Evans group but he wouldn't listen. If you think about it, with such a small group and 50K of descent between the top of the Galibier and the base of Alpe D'Huez, Contador and Schleck were bound to get caught. Remember, there were still four Europcar guys in the peleton, along with Evans' BMC teammates, Basso's Liquigas teammates, and Sanchez' Euskatel teammates. That was just too much firepower for Contador and Schleck to stay away till the end. Robert Millar also blasted this move as one of the dumbest things he had ever seen.

 

[movingtarget]

Good point! He had a dumb day, not a bad day.

A dumb day that turned into a bad day.

 

[Lupetto]

He had to abandon Dauphiné and Route du Sud due to an inflammation in his right knee. He also cancelled the national championships. His start at the Tour is in jeopardy.

http://www.sport24.com/cyclisme/tour-de-france/fil-info/voeckler-s-inquiete-562977

 

[Lexman]

when he DNF the dauphine stage i feared it could be something nasty being so close to TDF...

so all weight of Europcar on Rollands shoulders

 

[roundabout]

Nothing that some cortisone won't fix

 

[jens_attacks]

it will be terrilbe if tommy will miss the tour.i mean the tour is already poor as hell...and voeckler always puts a good show for everyone.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yup, we're basically losing everybody who can be entertaining left right and centre at the moment. This is potentially going to be an even less interesting tour than 2009. Yuck.