Despite not having a contract for 2016 and his current squad Europcar without a sponsor for next season, Thomas Voeckler says he will still ride as a professional in 2016, even if that means finding a new team.
Voeckler has ridden with the team managed by Jene-René Bernaudeau under its various guises since 200 when he was a stagiaire with Bonjour. He says he will remain a pro but wants to see if he can stay with Bernaudeau.
"The only thing I know is that I don't want to stop my career this year," the 35 year old told Cyclingnews at the race presentation in Yorkshire.
"I want to be in the peloton next year. One thing that's for sure is that I'll wait until Jean-René finds something. If not I'll wait until September and then try and find a team but I trust in Bernaudeau to find a sponsor."
"I don't want to think about stopping this season. I'll be on the bike next season but after that I don't know. If for example Jean-René finds a sponsor for three years I'll still only sign for one and then see how it goes, step-by-step."
While riding for Bernaudeau, Voeckler has often come up trumps for the team, taking four Tour de France stages, the KOM Jersey, spending numerous days in Yellow and finishing fourth in 2011. He has also won Brabantse Pijl, GP Plouay, GP Quebec, a stage in Pais Vasco and two overalls at the Route du Sud.
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