Under the orders of Thomas Voeckler, the French team is aiming for a new rainbow jersey this Sunday at the World Championships in Zurich (Switzerland).
The numbers speak for themselves. Since Thomas Voeckler took the reins in the summer of 2019, the French men’s cycling team has established itself as one of the best nations on the planet, winning ten medals – including two at the last Olympic Games. , at home – and three titles gleaned, a European Championship in 2023 with Christophe Laporte, and above all two World Championships – which France had not won since 1997! – in 2020 and 2021 with the inevitable Julian Alaphilippe. Before, perhaps, adding another to his list of achievements, this Sunday, on the difficult circuit of Zürich (Switzerland).
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He printed his paw
These successes – both the victories and the podiums – the Blues owe them in (large) part to the former “favorite” of the French public who quickly knew how to put his stamp on the French selection, shaping it (a little ) in his image. That is to say, by making it (even) more offensive than it was, for example, under the orders of Cyrille Guimard. “When I took the job in 2019, my ambition was simple: to transpose my way of doing things, when I was a rider, to today’s bikeexplained to West France this week the one who wore the yellow jersey of the Tour de France in 2004 and 2011. Make my vision of cycling understood according to the forces present. I want to keep this state of mind, namely the offensive. It doesn’t always work, but it works because you try. Take the risk of losing to win, while remaining consistent and not just to show off.»
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Trying has become the trademark of this French team. With the former fighter at their head, the Blues are more involved in the race, and do not hesitate to take matters in hand from afar, to launch into attacks a priori superfluous, to be anticipated…or to remain passive for a long time, against all odds, like the last Olympic Games in Paris. Clearly, Thomas Voeckler loves and knows how to surprise. He is adept in the art of the counterbalance. A bit, like when he was a runner and he deliberately exaggerated his grimaces to fool his opponents. He is almost ready to do anything to win the strategic battle. “Thomas is a strategist, he will play with others. The best example is when he welcomes his runners in swimming trunks in front of the photographers during the 2021 Worlds in Belgium. While Julian Alaphilippe is one of the favorites, with his swimsuit he makes people believe that France is a small team and that they are there on vacation.recalled Jean-René Bernaudeau, his ex-manager, in an interview given to Eurosport . It’s calculated. And it’s effective.
A plan…but also adaptation
And like any good strategist, Thomas Voeckler carefully prepares each deadline. He analyzes the route carefully, goes to spot it – when he can –, thinks long and hard about the best strategy to adopt and… about its selection. Indeed, it is essential that the chosen runners all, without exception, go in the same direction, that they are devoted to the same cause: the French team. It’s all the more difficult as the European and World Championships are played without earpieces. “It’s destabilizing for them, because we find ourselves in the selection with riders who are not in the same team the rest of the year, and what’s more, there is no headset. It’s the same for everyone. There, the state of mind of the group is more important than tactical sense. We always establish a plan A, a plan B, a plan C and we end up with a plan F at the end… This is where you have to know how to adapt“, he indicated to West France.
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Before adding: “You need a group that understands this adaptability, with guys capable of making decisions and others who will follow those who make decisions.» And if from time to time it does not work as hoped – for example in Glasgow, at the 2023 World Championships – the state of mind of the selected runners is always impeccable. We had another striking example this summer, at the Olympic Games, where Christophe Laporte perfectly protected Valentin Madouas, and where Julian Alaphilippe, cited among the favorites, knew how to sacrifice his personal ambitions for his teammates. It is this collective, this sense of sacrifice, which is also the strength of the Blues. “There is the pride of being in the French team, of experiencing something. The guys who helped ‘Bebe’ (Cosnefroy) to get a bronze medal in Trento, or in Imola, Louvain with Julian, it’s not money in a bank account, but a human adventure that they will remember »assured Thomas Voeckler to West France. Let’s hope they create some great new memories this Sunday.
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