French cycling hero Thomas Voeckler is under no illusion that he was not chasing for victory in the Tour de France last year as he crashed out with only two days to go, handing the title over to Cadel Evans. The 32 year old was already a hero in his homeland before his exploits in last year’s grand tour and one of the things that most people like about him is that he wears his heart on his sleeve, having done so since the first time he swung his leg over a bicycle. The two time national championship winner in France held the lead for as many as ten days before his crash in the slopes of Alpe d’Huez handed the Yellow Jersey over to the youngster.

Voeckler admitted that there were some strategic mistakes on his part during that fateful race but he also confessed that he was not gunning for the first place, when his team mate was in the lead. At best, he was looking at a podium finish and second place was the best that Thomas Voeckler could hope for but everything went horribly wrong from there on.

His exploits in last year’s Tour have made many Frenchmen believe that one of their own can win the Yellow Jersey, a feat that has not been achieved since Richard Virenque did it in the mid-1990s. Although his team Europcar applied for membership of the International Cycling Union, it was declined to them, which means that Voeckler and his teammates will have to wait for invitations to take part in most events, except those in France.

But Thomas Voeckler does not think that it will be a problem because they will be able to give everything aiming for the most prestigious prize in road cycling, the Tour de France.