“During the stage – all day long – there were people on the side of the road yelling at me: ‘Allez Thomas! Maillot jaune!’ And I was thinking, ‘Yeah, it would be great but it would be hard to take it.’ When I saw that we had a gap of seven minutes, I said to myself, ‘Maybe...’
“In the last 60 kilometers, I told my sports director, ‘What do we have to do? Try to win the stage or only think about the jersey – but with any guarantee...?’ And he said to me, ‘Okay, ride for the overall!’
“So I rode and rode and rode and I was very happy in the final kilometers and when I crossed the line and I understood that I have taken the yellow jersey
“When you only have two minutes on a rider like Cadel Evans in the overall, I have to be realistic. I’m not a dreamer, I will just fight and give all that I can. I know it’s impossible for me to keep the lead for 10 days like in 2004 but one thing is sure – tomorrow I can keep the jersey because it’s a rest day."
Interview
July 10
th
2011
- 19:09
Thomas Voeckler – “I'm not a dreamer...”
