rosinante25

when i hit that hard part of the hill on my last ride i found myself thinking of tomas vocler and envisioned his face with that great look of determination & suffering and used it as inspiration to get over that hill. a few weeks ago i had never even heard of tommie vocler. for me he was the real winner of the tdf. altho i was happy for caddell who was heroic and had worked so hard for it over the years. all of the big and not so big names were great and fun to watch. but for me it was little tommie vockler whose face is on the 2011 tdf.

LAriverRat

Thomas Voeckler. Thomas Voeckler. Thomas Voeckler. Google is your friend.

Shifty

i agree completely, except I don't like the tv guys calling him little Tommie Voeckler, seems like a put down to me.

eja_ bottecchia

My sentiments exactly. Just one correction, Monsieur Voeckler's performance in this year's TdF is almost the mirror image of his performance in the 2004 TdF.

From Wiki:

A major surprise in the (2004) Tour was the performance of French newcomer Thomas Voeckler, who unexpectedly won the maillot jaune in the fifth stage and held onto it for ten stages before finally losing it to Armstrong.

And this from the Europcar official website:

Hero of a whole country that was seduced by his courage, passion and tenacious attitude, Voeckler has become the ambassador of choice for French cycling. "If someone had described how this Tour was going to pan out before the race I would have had difficulty believing them," said Voeckler, who admitted he was a little bit disappointed to have missed out on a place on the podium.

eja_ bottecchia

Exactly. I never heard Liggett or Sherwen refer to Frank Schleck as "Frankie."

Robert Foster

Did you ever hear them call Evans "Cuddles"? It is just a name sometimes it sticks and sometimes it doesn't.

eja_ bottecchia

Yes, I heard that. I don't get it with all the cute nicknames. Maybe I am just old and cranky.

sarals 

Liggett and Sherwen do like to call the riders "boys".

I don't think referring to Thomas Voeckler as "Tommy" is at all derogatory. In fact, I did hear Phil say "Tommy Voeckler" at least once, and probably more. It is is a term of endearment, and the man certainly went a long way to endear himself to many. He certainly did to me. He showed grit, talent, determination, and sheer heart. He rode a magnificent race. He showed me what an elite athlete is, and why. Cadel ("Cuddles" - that's a ringer...) won the Tour (deservedly), the Schlecks were two and three, but to me - Thomas Voeckler was on the podium, too. He showed me how much the Tour meant to him, how much pride he had in wearing and keeping the Maillot Jaune, and what a fine athlete he truly is. I have the utmost in respect for him, for he has earned that respect, and calling him Tommy in no way degrades him or displays a lack of the respect that he is due.

Rowan

I would suggest Liggett and Sherwin are on far more familiar terms with the riders than some of you imagine.

irwin7638

I don't know what Voeckler means by 0,(0% chance of winning)but I'll be cheering for him again next year.

Marc

RavingManiac

But they have referred to Andy as "Andie".

RavingManiac

Is calling Hincapie "big George Hincapie" a put down?

chasm54

He means he has zero chance of coming first in the GC of the Tour. And that is a realistic assessment, it will never happen. He isn't a good enough climber to make up for his weakness in the time-trials. Root for him by all means, though, he's a gutsy performer.

Steve B.

Hell no, even his wife calls him that !

nondes 

Photo taken after Voeckler won the Yellow Jersey in Chartres in 2004

rae

I was so hoping he would somehow ride out of his skin to get on the podium.

However, I am thrilled with the win of Evans/BMC (another great example of the determination and tenacity needed) and the performance of Garmin-Slipstream.

This was a great Tour de France -- my favorite since I've been able to watch! In spite of all the carnage.

bigbadwullf

He did well but it was an inevitable thing.

Shifty

When they call him Tommy it's OK, but to repeatedly call him "little Tommy Voeckler", comes off a tad disrespectful. I really enjoy Ligget and Sherwin, they are the best, but this stands out to me when they say it. I agree with all of the positive comments about Voeckler in this thread, he's a gritty and determined athlete, but I think that the cycling media treats him like a freak, not as a serious contender, calling him "little Tommy" reflects that impression.

bigbadwullf

Yikes. The whole Napoleonic complex strikes again. Amazing.

BluesDawg

How anyone could listen to the abundance of praise and adulation that was being bestowed upon Voeckler and come away with the impression that he was being disrespected is beyond my comprehension.

Garfield Cat

Somehow Andrew Schleck doesn't sound right. Franklin Schleck? Lancelot Armstrong, Gregory Lemond, Thomas Danielson.

Shifty

Whatever, we always seem to take things too far, don't we.

stapfam

There have been many occasions where a Frenchman has won a stage- and then French expectations has cursed the rider. They do love a winner- especially if he is French but they seem to expect that "He has done it today-He will keep doing it" Doesn't happen and that lead ballon gets on the riders neck and that is it.

Voeckler was different. All the way through he knew that he didn't have a chance on the TT- but he gave everyone else a good race to catch him. He may not have made the Podium but he is one big French hero. And wil be till next year.

cruzMOKS

Voeckler lost 2:07 to Evans in the 20th stage time trial. He just needed to be a little stronger in the mnts. I look for him to be back next year.

freedomrider1

The Schlecks kinda get on my nerves a little.Got to hand it to Andy on the great day on thurs. But on Fri. when Contador took off the Schlecks kept trying to get Evans to chase him, i mean what the heck after what they did to him the day befor,And Evans not needing to chase.It looked a little goofy.