Europcar leader set Paris-Nice and Amstel Gold as early targets
Image 1 of 3
Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) at the start(Image credit: AFP)
Thomas Voeckler put in an impressive performance at Dwars Door Vlaanderen but was caught on the line(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) out-smarted his breakaway companions to win stage 6 of the Dauphine(Image credit: AFP Photo)
Thomas Voeckler has revealed he will begin his 2014 season at the Santos Tour Down Under in Australia, before targeting Paris-Nice, Milan-San Remo and the Amstel Gold Race in the first part of the new season.
The Frenchman has also listed the Tour de France as a major objective on his programme, knowing that his Europcar team has secured an automatic invitation thanks to securing WorldTour status for 2014.
Voeckler spent last week in Salou, Spain, at a Europcar training camp and will travel to Australia in the new year. He listed his goals for 2014 on his personal website: www.thomas-voeckler.fr.
The Santos Tour Down Under runs between January 19-26 and then Voeckler will return to Europe to ride Le tour Méditeranéen (February 13-16) in the South of France, La Ruta Del Sol (February 19-23) in the south of Spain, the one-day Sud Ardèche (March 1) and La drôme classique (March 2).
Voeckler won two stages of Paris-Nice in 2011 and has often gone on the attack on the hilly stages of the Race to the Sun.
After riding Milan-San Remo, which will suit much more with the addition of the Pompeiana climb in the finale, Voeckler will take a break before riding the Tour of the Basque Country before heading to the Ardennes for the Amstel Gold race on April 20.
He will perhaps ride the Critérium du Dauphiné (June 8-15) and the French national championships (June 29) before traveling to Yorkshire for the start of the Tour de France on July 5.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
