Cycling: Simon Yates (Orica Scott) won the white jersey at the 2017 Tour de France. He relegated the young professionals Louis Meintjes (Dimension Data) and Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-hansgrohe) to their places. The future belongs to the three of them. At the same time, at the 104th edition of the Tour de France, a number of professionals rode the Champs-Elysées for the last time in racing. Next year we will not see these riders in the Tour de France. We respectfully bid farewell to impressive careers.
Thomas Voeckler: The little fighter gave France hope again
It's been 13 years since the young Thomas Voeckler first conquered the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. At that time he drove for the small French team Brioches La Boulangère, which is now called Direct Energie. On the fifth stage, Thomas Vockler, aged 25, pulled away together with a number of well-known professionals from the peloton. The day's win went to Stuart O'Grady, but Thomas Voeckler took over the yellow jersey. Lance Armstrong held his men back so they wouldn't have to work as much in the days that followed. But this little Frenchman fought back bravely. Only after the 15th stage did he give up the leader's jersey. In the end he was 18th overall. He only topped this result with his fourth place in 2011. The following season he secured the mountains classification. Thomas Voeckler was loved by the fans because of his combative driving style. After the many scandals and a great low in French cycling, he was the hope of a new, strong generation. He was less popular in the peloton itself, as his unconventional driving style often disrupted the rhythm in breakaway groups. Also, he was always difficult to catch. After 15 participations in the Tour de France, we will be following a Tour of France without Thomas Voeckler for the first time since 2018. To put this in perspective: At that time Robbie McEwen won the green jersey ahead of Erik Zabel and teams like ONCE, Kelme, Fassa Bortolo, Mapei and iBanesto were also at the start.
Haimar Zubeldia: Today the Basque is celebrating farewell at home
The youngest cycling fans may no longer be familiar with Haimar Zubeldia. No wonder, because in recent years the Basque has only acted as a helper for strong climbers and class riders. But he himself was once one of them. After all, Haimar Zubeldia finished in the top ten of the Tour de France five times in his long career. He had his best times when he started for the Basque team Euskaltel-Euskadi. In the orange jerseys, the strong climbers stirred up every mountain stage. Along with Iban Mayo, David Etxebarria, Roberto Laiseka and Samuel Sánchez, he formed a strong force as soon as things went uphill. Haimar Zubeldia was able to celebrate his only stage win in the Tour de France when he left the team. He switched to Team Astana and won the team time trial at the 2009 Tour de France with his colleagues. Haimar Zubeldia was and is valued as a loyal companion by his comrades. He did help for Andreas Klöden, the Schleck brothers and Alberto Contador. After today's Clasica San Sebastian, Haimar Zubeldia will end his career.
Alberto Contador: The controversial pistolero connects two generations
There is probably no cycling fan in the world who does not know the name Alberto Contador. With his aggressive driving style in the mountains, the Spaniard managed to turn many spectators into his fans. He competed in his first Tour de France in 2005 when Lance Armstrong won his last Tour de France, Ivan Basso was dubbed the crown prince and Jan Ullrich finished third in his last Tour de France. However, as a 22-year-old, he played no significant role. The following year, Contador was on the Fuentes list, along with Ullrich and Basso. Although his name disappeared in the course of the investigation, he got away with it, but still missed the 2006 Tour de France. In 2007 he came back and triumphed for the first time. Victories followed in 2009 and 2010, as well as successes at the Giro and the Vuelta. El Pistolero seemed unstoppable. But then came the clenbuterol affair. Alberto Contador was denied numerous victories. Although he still won the Vuelta and the Giro after his comeback, he did not make it onto the podium at the Tour de France. Alberto Contador can therefore be described as a very controversial but extremely popular professional cyclist. Only Oleg Tinkov doesn't seem to like him. During the Tour de France, his former boss referred to the Spaniard as stupid limping duck. Cycling fans will miss Alberto Contador. Although he is currently still considering whether he would like to drive for another year, his Trek-Segafredo team is probably planning without the Madrilenian.
