THOMAS VOECKLER 20 DAYS IN YELLOW
It is funny to think that the yellow jersey is not really a victory, it is something much more important than that. It is a symbol, highlighting what this incredible event is all about. The Tour is part of the country’s history. After two world wars, it offered the French people a way of escaping thoughts of those great conflicts and the devastation they caused. It still has that ability to transform. When you first take it, you cannot imagine what the yellow jersey will bring to you in terms of attention and recognition. It does not matter whether you are only likely to have it for a single day or if you are hoping to wear it all the way into Paris, it will have an immense impact on your career. When I had the French champion’s jersey in 2004, I thought to myself, ‘This is cool, being the French champion everyone recognises me’. But once you take the yellow jersey that recognition rockets into the stratosphere. It is so completely different it is hard to describe it.
When I got the jersey, the more experienced riders said to me: “It will give you wings.” I told them, “You’re not the one who’s on the bike. I know with my legs it’s going to be difficult to hold it.” But a few days later, at Plateau de Beille, I had to admit to myself: “This jersey has special powers.”
It is difficult to describe, but you do not feel that you have the right to yield and, as a consequence, you can push your degree of suffering further than normal. It does give you wings.