Quebec win inspires French champion to consider racing
The podium: Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky), Thomas Voeckler (Bbox) and Robert Gesink (Rabobank) (Image credit: Tour of Japan)
Thomas Voeckler may reconsider his decision not to compete in the upcoming UCI Road World Championships after his solo victory at the ProTour's Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec City on Friday.
The French national champion had previously ruled himself out of the running for the Worlds, which takes place in Geelong, near Melbourne, Australia on October 3.
"I don't want to make a decision right away after such a great victory but obviously this might change my feeling," Voeckler said. "I will discuss it with the French team coach, Laurent Jalabert, and see what he thinks."
Voeckler attacked a small front group that formed late in the race to take a solo victory ahead of Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) and Robert Gesink (Rabobank) at the end of the challenging 198km circuit race.
"The Quebec atmosphere gave me a lot of motivation," Voeckler said. "Despite the appearance, I did not train so much this season and didn't have my best training year and did not lead a healthy lifestyle. I think that shows that cycling is not an exact science."
He admitted that the course in Quebec City is similar in style to a typical world championship course, however, it was much more challenging than the circuit which is planned for the elite men's race in Geelong.
"For the time being, I'll stick to my decision that I'm not doing the World Championships," Voeckler said. "Especially because that course is much faster than it was here and could favor a faster rider, so we will see."
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Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
