Defending Tour de Yorkshire champion Thomas Voeckler might not be in peak condition but the Frenchman is banking on his experience to help him retain his title in the 2017 edition in his final ride on British soil.

The 37-year-old, who famously wore the yellow jersey for 20 days over the 2004 and 2011 Tours de France, will call time on his career after this year’s Grande Boucle and will be hoping to add to last year’s Tour de Yorkshire title in the three-day race that begins in Bridlington on Friday.

The second stage will be the opportunity for the sprinters to shine, with a world class field that includes Frenchman Nacer Bouhanni, winner of three stages on the Giro d’Italia, up-and-comer Caleb Ewan from Australia, and Dutchman Dylan van Groenewegen, who won the opening stage in Yorkshire last year.

Renowned for his maverick style, Voeckler has been a success in Yorkshire where his willingness to attack at every opportunity has often paid dividends.

He claimed the crown a year ago after winning the opening stage, and is expecting a similarly demanding race this year which will feature its hardest stage yet on Sunday between Bradford and Fox Valley near Sheffield.

“My shape isn’t so bad. I’m not 100 percent in terms of my condition but I have the experience of this race,” said Direct-Energie rider Voeckler.

“I know the different roads. My goal is to take pleasure in my last year as a professional in the peloton.

“I’m really motivated but I also know how difficult it is to ride at the front of this race. Riding the Tour de Yorkshire, you cannot compare to any other race.

“Because the country is different, the atmosphere is different and the crowd, we riders feel the people are really concerned about the race. They are happy to see us race over here. This makes the race a little bit different compared to the others I do all year in other countries.

“It’s special to be in my last season as a professional. Every race I take part in, I know it’s the last time I will take part as a rider. So it’s special but I cannot think about it all the time because I have to focus on the sport.”

Voeckler was speaking at Richmond Hill Primary School where he handed over the 5,000th donated bike to the Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries.

The scheme began in 2014 following the Grand Départ in Yorkshire to start the Tour de France, and last year alone 36,000 children were able to ride a bike thanks to the Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries.

And for Voeckler, the scheme is the perfect way for all youngsters to learn to ride.

He added: “When they asked me to come and give the 5,000th bike to the Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries I said yes immediately because it’s something that stays after the events like the Tour de Yorkshire or the Grand Depart of the Tour de France in 2014.

“This is something for the kids because not all parents can afford to buy a bike for their kids, and I’m really impressed by 36,000 kids riding bikes thanks to the Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries, it’s a really great project and I think it’s a really good thing.

“For young children riding a bike should be a right. It is like swimming, everybody should be able to ride a bike. We can see that’s not the case, so these kinds of schemes like the Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries are really a great thing.”

Thomas Voeckler was speaking at Richmond Hill Primary School, a Yorkshire Bank Bike Library in Leeds. For more information on Yorkshire Bank Bike Libraries please visit www.ybonline.co.uk/bikelibraries