"it was a very complex" : Thomas Voeckler breaks the silence after being removed from the Tour de France (VIDEO)

Thomas Voeckler tells his side of the story. Wednesday 19 July during 17^to During the stage of the Tour de France connecting Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc to Courchevel, the motorcycle on which the famous France Televisions consultant was riding caused a major incident during the ascent of the Col de la Loze. Approaching a very steep bend, the former cycling champion’s two-wheeled vehicles found themselves blocked. The bike, which had difficulty in starting again due to the steepness of the slope, prevented the passage of some drivers, including the Yellow Jersey Jonas Vingegaard. Due to the very strict rules of the race, the organizers of the Tour de France decided to exclude Thomas Voeckler and his driver from the 18th race.^to The stage between Moutiers and Bourg-en-Bresse on Thursday 20 July. The two men were also fined 500 Swiss francs, or about 520 euros.

Thomas Voeckler was on the show Cycling Club broadcasting France 2 after 18^to The stage won by Dane Kasper Asgreen. It’s a rare victory for a member of the day’s breakup, where the advisor couldn’t participate on his usual motorcycle because of this. When asked by Laurent Luyat about the unfortunate incident he had the previous day, the former cyclist explained: “We did not linger. There is a stationary motorcycle, there is a stationary neutral rescue car, another three-wheeled motorcycle from the organization stopped, so of course we stood back but did not stop. (…) With the weight of the bike, it has already passed many climbing kilometers, the bike is empty at more than 350 kilos, 25% incline, maybe 30% inside… We couldn’t start again right now.“

“we had the right to be there“, continues Thomas Voeckler.”At the back of the race, we were where we were supposed to be according to the traffic rules. We couldn’t start again, so we were responsible for blocking the runners. We’ve been sanctioned, that’s normal. Our fault is that we couldn’t go. So we intervened in the race, yes we interfered in the race.“The role the public could have in this great upheaval has been questioned, Thomas Voeckler speculated”no problem” With the audience in this issue of the Tour de France: “There may be things to adapt, it’s not for me to say. What I noticed on this Tour is that there is a more festive folk. It doesn’t bother me, you just need to adapt some things. But we won’t complain about people coming to the party, you just have to adapt. We won’t complain as there are more people on the tour!“

At the end of his intervention, Thomas Voeckler admitted that he was afraid of hurting people who might find him around: “What worried me was the safety of the runners as well as the spectators. If you had a child back then and a 350-pound motorcycle or a racer fell on their feet… Wasting time there was no longer an issue. This bike had to go.” The 44-year-old champ was able to manage this unforeseen event with the invaluable help of his driver with complete composure: “Rather than do anything, I asked people to calm down, listen, and help us get back on track. We did it, but it was a very complicated moment. I have a big thought for my driver Joël, it was very difficult for him. If the bike did not lie down, it has a lot to do with it.“

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