Voeckler confident he'll be fit for Tour de France

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Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) may have been forced to abandon his last two races – the Critérium du Dauphiné and Route du Sud – but the Frenchman says that with a week's rest, he will have recovered enough to participate in his 10th Tour de France.

The 32-year old had an MRI on his troublesome knee on Monday and the results have him feeling confident of being on the start line in Liège on June 30.

"I am hopeful for the Tour," Voeckler told Ouest France after he got the results of his scan. "I have an inflammation of the iliotibial tract, that is to say, the outside of the knee. I have to take a week off without cycling."

The injury means that Voeckler will be forced to miss this weekend's French National Road Championships, a title he won in 2004 and 2010. He finished third last year behind Sylvain Chavanel and Anthony Roux.

"This is detrimental to the preparation for the Tour and that is disappointing, but I will be fresh, without being in top form because I have only three days of cycling in the legs before departure," Voeckler continued. He remained philosophical regarding his shortened Tour preparation on the basis that he's "largely been spared" of injury throughout his career.