Tour de France: Voeckler celebrates Bastille Day with Yellow Jersey possession
LUZ ARDIDEN, France: Thomas Voeckler of France gave his nation a reason to smile on Bastille Day celebrations as he retained the Yellow Jersey after the 12th stage of the Tour de France cycle race 2011 which Samuel Sanchez won.
Samuel Sanchez, Jelle Vanendert. Courtesy: Getty Images
The 211-km-long ride from Cugnaux to Luz-Ardiden, which is the first Tour stage in the Pyrenees, proved a mixed one for the Spanish riders where although a Spaniard Samuel Sanchez, who is Olympic Champion, won it but the other veteran Spanish rider Alberto Contador lost his composure and energy towards the end as he let several riders overtake him.
Sanchez upped the race in the final three climbs where he outpaced breakaway companion Jelle Vanendert of Belgium to win the stage but the real battle was on behind where in the last four kilometers Frank Schleck of Luxembourg gave it a full go.
Samuel Sanchez. Courtesy: Getty Images
However, the biggest disappointment of the 12th stage was Albert Contador whose weakness exposed after a knee injury he took past week.
Contador, who is now seventh in the overall standings with four minutes behind Yellow Jersey holder Thomas Voeckler, told reporters after the stage, “I was not able to deliver as much as I would have loved to, but I’m still satisfied by this result. It was a special day because I was still recovering from those crashes. But I will be getting better and better day by day”.
Thomas Voeckler. Courtesy: AP PHOTO
Thomas Voeckler told reporters, “The yellow jersey gives you motivation to go beyond suffering”.
Sanchez found good bit of support on the sidelines where a number of Spaniards crossed the border to cheer their favorite team. Sanchez said, “I wanted to win this stage after losing five minutes in a crash on the first day. I did not want to return home empty-handed. Now I’m going to try not to lose time and make it back gradually up the overall classification”.
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