Vive Le Tour, 2012...

Just to bring it up to date. Exciting day on the Tour, wasn't it. Thomas Voeckler, who had been steadily regaining his fitness following a pre-Tour injury to his knee, found his chance and made the most of it, just as he did last year.

(Laurent Cipriani/Associated Press)

"I'm 33, it's my tenth Tour and I fully appreciate what's happening to me today ... What an amazing rush it was when I crossed the line. My knees hurt. Everything hurts ... Today I know that I can finish my Tour without regrets but that doesn't mean that I'll just stay in the peloton for the rest of the race." - from the Team Europcar website

(Pascal Pavani/AFP/GettyImages)

Once the breakaway, which had formed on the opening flat roads of the Jura Valley, hit the slopes of the days big climb, the Col du Grand Colombier, the pressure applied by Voeckler and Michele Scarponi, quickly decimated it's numbers. By the summit of the Colombier, twenty-five riders had become four, and there were still about 43 km to race. Now, I started watching while the group was on the final climb of the day, the Col de Richemond, when the cameras were showing the lead four, Pierre Roland and Jurgen van den Broeck chasing, and the Yellow Jersey group behind, there was no mention of anyone else. So was I surprised when all of a sudden, seeming to come from nowhere, the cameras turn to Jens Voigt, who is absolutely smashing the pedals and rocking side to side with effort, to join the lead four with about 10 km to go. 

At this point Voeckler had been doing most of the grunt work, pulling the group along. Scarponi and Luis Leon Sanchez were spent, willing to await the finish. Dries Devenyns put everything into a final attack with less than 5 km to go. It looked like Voeckler's efforts would go unrewarded as no one was willing to take up the chase. There was a brief image of Thomas throwing up his hands in frustration before he gathered up what strength was left in his legs to chase down Devenyns and hold off Scarponi and Voigt at the line. A well deserved victory for monsieur Voeckler, and he gets the Mountains Jersey as well.