Thomas Voeckler will start in Langkawi

Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom) (Image credit: Régis Garnier)

By Jean-François Quénet

Thomas Voeckler was one of the last winners of the 2006 season, when he claimed a solo victory at the French cup final Paris-Bourges in October. Having taken a rest on the island of Martinique, where he spend his childhood, Voeckler has now set his mind on the upcomiong season. For the first time the 2004 Tour de France hero - where he wore the yellow jersey for ten days - will double at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France. In the meantime, Voeckler is preparing his return to competition in 2007 where he started his pro career: in Malaysia for Le Tour de Langkawi, from February 2 to 11.

"This race has a special place in my heart because Malaysia is where my pro career began," Voeckler said. "I had done Paris-Bourges as a stagiaire with team Bonjour but that was just a try. In February 2001, I really became a professional cyclist when I started in Le Tour de Langkawi. It was a good way to discover my new world. I was impressed by the speed. I thought the bunch was going extremely fast. Then I found out that it's the same all year, so I had to get used to this level of cycling."

"I prefer to start racing under the sun. I finished my 2006 season quite late with a win in Paris-Bourges and a participation to the Tour of Lombardy and the Chrono des Nations in October. In 2007 I will try to have a good early season, then a break, then I will double Tour of Italy and Tour de France," he explained. "After the 2004 Tour de France, many race organizers asked for me to attend. This kind of pressure has cooled down a bit now, so I'm able to make my own choices for my race program. As a start of a season, I've done Le Tour de Langkawi twice, the Tour of Qatar three times and the Etoile de Bessèges once. Now I feel like Langkawi is the best for me this year. I have asked my team to line me up there."