"The biggest hope for us is that another rider can do the same as Voeckler, " admitted Simon, who singled out Pierre Rolland, winner of the white jersey last year for best under-25 rider, for a possible high finish.

CNN: The globalization of the Tour de France

CNN's Mallory Simon, Edvige Jean-Francois, Shasta Darlington, Deb Feyerick, Matt Smith, Pierre Meilhan, Mike Mount and Brandon Griggs contributed to this report.

CNN: 7.0 quake hits Haiti; 'Serious loss of life' expected