Thomas Voeckler questioned after Worlds plan fails

Thomas Voeckler came under scrutiny after France’s strategy at the World Championships failed to deliver the title challenge built around Paul Seixas. The national selector defended the decision to make the race hard, saying the team had followed its plan and that abandoning such an approach would have left France with no chance of winning.

Seixas was in the chasing group, around 15 seconds behind eventual champion Brandon McNulty, when cramps stopped his effort inside the final five kilometres. The French leader’s setback ended his hopes after a race shaped by the team’s sustained pace and left the squad disappointed.

Voeckler acknowledged that Seixas may have been left without enough support too early, but rejected the idea that France had overplayed its hand. He said the race’s extraordinary intensity had taken events beyond the team’s control. Rivals Tom Pidcock and Remco Evenepoel also suggested that the French tempo had taken a heavy toll on Seixas, with Pidcock describing the six-and-a-half-hour race as exhausting for the entire field.

Seixas blamed his cramps on hydration and called his performance a major personal failure, while also apologising to the teammates who had worked for him. Voeckler’s defence leaves the French campaign defined by an ambitious plan that was executed aggressively but collapsed before the finish.