One of the most prominent French riders of his generation, Voeckler has been described as a "national hero", due to strong performances over several years in the Tour de France.
33 Facts About Thomas Voeckler
2.
Thomas Voeckler comes from the Alsace region of France but later moved to Martinique, where he was nicknamed "Ti-Blanc" due to his small stature and pale complexion.
3.
In 2003, Thomas Voeckler won two stages and the overall title in the Tour de Luxembourg.
4.
Thomas Voeckler survived the dreaded climbs of the Pyrenees seconds ahead of Lance Armstrong.
5.
Thomas Voeckler finally surrendered the jersey to Armstrong on stage 15 in the French Alps.
6.
Thomas Voeckler then lost the white jersey to Vladimir Karpets.
7.
The 2005 season was busy as Thomas Voeckler rode many races, including some not considered a fit for his style of riding.
8.
In 2007, Thomas Voeckler garnered a stunning win at the GP Ouest-France, in which he beat the favorites with a late breakaway.
9.
Thomas Voeckler went for victory with about 5 kilometres to go, having been part of a breakaway group for most of the race.
10.
Thomas Voeckler was able to break away from the bunch along with Christophe Le Mevel, and Voeckler bested Le Mevel in the sprint.
11.
Thomas Voeckler later described this win in the Vendee department, where he had made his home, as the best moment of his career.
12.
Thomas Voeckler launched himself before the summit of the Hors Categorie Port de Bales, cresting the summit alone.
13.
Thomas Voeckler negotiated the very fast descent without incident, and crossed the line in Bagneres-de-Luchon with more than a minute over the chasers.
14.
Thomas Voeckler downplayed his chances in the press in the days before the event citing a lack of form.
15.
In 2011, Thomas Voeckler enjoyed his finest year as a professional.
16.
Thomas Voeckler held on to the yellow jersey daily from the beginning of Stage 10 onwards, carrying it through all the Pyrenean mountain stages and into the Alps, but he was unable to retain it at the end of Stage 19, the queen stage finishing at Alpe d'Huez.
17.
Thomas Voeckler finished in fourth place in the final general classification, 3 minutes and 20 seconds behind the winner, Cadel Evans.
18.
Thomas Voeckler's planned switch to Cofidis was worth almost twice as much, however Voeckler chose to remain at reduced salary with Jean-Rene Bernaudeau's team, once it re-found sponsorship for 2011, able to continue his 15-year relationship with the coach.
19.
In 2012, Thomas Voeckler followed his previous year's successes with another season of victories and top placements, including a new-found focus in the Spring Classics.
20.
Thomas Voeckler started the Tour de France slowly, suffering from a knee injury and almost abandoning the grand tour, after abandoning earlier preparation races.
21.
Thomas Voeckler prevailed in the queen stage of the race, stage 16 from Pau to Bagneres-de-Luchon, which included four huge climbs including the Col du Tourmalet.
22.
Thomas Voeckler broke away from the peloton about 25 kilometres into the race and was part of a massive 38-man escape bunch.
23.
Thomas Voeckler then charged down the mountain to reach the finish line with a minute and 40 seconds on the nearest chaser.
24.
Thomas Voeckler subsequently won a classification podium spot in Paris for the first time in his career, by holding the tour's mountain classification jersey from the Pyrenees to the finish.
25.
Thomas Voeckler started the Classics season with a good showing in Dwars door Vlaanderen.
26.
Thomas Voeckler escaped the lead group of riders on the last climb with 6 kilometres to race and made a solo bid for the line, but was caught inside the final meters, only to take fifth.
27.
Thomas Voeckler continued his winning form by winning the overall titles of the Route du Sud and the Tour du Poitou-Charentes.
28.
Thomas Voeckler had a significant result in the Tour de France, finishing second on the stage to Bagneres-de-Luchon behind Michael Rogers.
29.
Thomas Voeckler came back at the Tour du Doubs, finishing 46th.
30.
Thomas Voeckler cooperated well with his breakaway companion Jelle Wallays until the "last kilometer to go" sign, where Wallays refused to pull and Voeckler was beaten in the two-man sprint.
31.
In February, Thomas Voeckler took his first wins since August 2013 when he won the first stage and the general classification at the first edition of the Tour La Provence.
32.
In September 2016, Thomas Voeckler announced that he would retire from professional cycling, after the 2017 Tour de France, his fifteenth successive participation in the race.
33.
In 2019, Thomas Voeckler was appointed the manager of the French national team, replacing Cyrille Guimard.