Tour de France - Jens Voight

I watched his athlete spot light about 5 times. I have always liked him but I have even more respect for him now.

This link should work if you missed it.
http://www.versus.com/tdf/?articleID=72513

I watched his athlete spot light about 5 times. I have always liked him but I have even more respect for him now.



Plus he has a bunch of kids too (5 I think?). That plus bike racing surely keeps a guy out of trouble!

He's one of the most likeable guys in the peloton. A great attitude towards the sport.

I agree, I'm new to watching and I was really impressed with him. Seems like a great guy!

Watching him lead the peleton up the climb while riders kept falling off the back was just awesome. Then to have the athlete profile show his attitude really underscored it for me.

Watching him lead the peleton up the climb while riders kept falling off the back was just awesome. Then to have the athlete profile show his attitude really underscored it for me.

...and he is not a 'real climber', fun to watch him make pace and drop Valverde and others :)

How could you not like Jens? The guy gives 200% all of the time, never seems to leave anything behind. I admire these guys much more than the stars who get most of the spotlight. It is always nice that he gets the credit for working hard and does get his wins now and again.

He's a beast of a man! :)

... Paul Sherwin

If I could be anyone in my next life, I would be Jens Voigt. The way he tore himself inside out getting Schleck and Sastre up the hills on Stage 10 was insane to watch.

He's a beast of a man! :)

... Paul Sherwin

lol I always loved that comment. I should put my Jens avatar back for the tour. :love:

They're giving him lots of spotlight now...with good reason; cycling NEEDS a good guy or two right now.
I've always liked the cut of his jib as well.

He and George Hincapie (and maybe Óscar Pereiro) get my votes for MVP

If I could be anyone in my next life, I would be Jens Voigt. The way he tore himself inside out getting Schleck and Sastre up the hills on Stage 10 was insane to watch.

He does that stuff every year. So cool.:thumb:

I've always liked the cut of his jib as well.

Not that there's anything wrong with that . . .

I enjoy watching Jens Voight race. After watching his athlete profile made me like him more. He seems like a guy who works very hard and has a good philosophy "In case of doubt just go!" or "If you try to win you might lose. If you don't try to win you lose for sure."

Be sure to check out this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRj6uIp-PBQ) for more on Voight's philosophies.

I've always liked the cut of his jib as well.

What I don't like is having to follow someone who uses "cut of his jib" in regular conversation. I understand the meaning and the sailing reference. If the use of the phrase was serious it is pretentious and if used jokingly it is silly. Either way it almost prevented me from posting a reply on this thread.

What I don't like is having to follow someone who uses "cut of his jib" in regular conversation. I understand the meaning and the sailing reference. If the use of the phrase was serious it is pretentious and if used jokingly it is silly. Either way it almost prevented me from posting a reply on this thread.

Um...okay

I really dig his German/Australian accent. Jens is awesome.

What I don't like is having to follow someone who uses "cut of his jib" in regular conversation. I understand the meaning and the sailing reference. If the use of the phrase was serious it is pretentious and if used jokingly it is silly. Either way it almost prevented me from posting a reply on this thread.

CHILLAX! The ridiculous use of the word "chillax" should definitely stop you from posting on this thread.

Either way it almost prevented me from posting a reply on this thread.
Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. :rolleyes:

Almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. :rolleyes:

You forgot about atomic bombs.

Some good Jens Voight clips:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsNHe98tHmA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCasmDE94S0&NR=1

There was also a Giro stage a few years ago, when Voight sat in the breakaway so he would not help anyone challenge the GC lead of his teammate. At the end, Riis told Voight that he could contest the sprint. Voight refused to do so, and let someone else win the stage. He said it didn't feel right to sit in all day without contributing, and then steal the win at the end. That's class.

WWJD? (http://shop.cafepress.com/jens-voight)

There was a cyclingnews.com article a couple years ago about a blind fan of Jens. Jens called up the guy and said let's go for a ride, they found a tandem, and Jens took the guy out for a spin.

Here it is :

Jens Voigt on a Tandem
Jens Voigt and Michael Löffler
© Team CSC
German strongman Jens Voigt (CSC) made a blind couple's dreams come true, when he rode with them on a tandem. Last December, Katja Löffler sent a letter to Eurosport asking whether they could help give her husband Michael a special birthday present: some kind of training session with his favourite cyclist Jens Voigt. But it had to take place on a tandem, because both she and her husband are blind.

"Ulli Jansch from Eurosport asked me if I wanted to do it," Voigt commented on team-csc.com. "At first I was a little bit scared, not so much because Michael is blind, but I was afraid if I did this, perhaps a lot of people suddenly wanted me to participate in this and that. I mean, you can't please everybody, no matter how hard you try."

Voigt agreed, and a Eurosport commentator borrowed a racing tandem from disabled World Champion Manuela Fuchs, replaced the clipless pedals with normal ones, and picked up the Löffler family, who had travelled by train from Hamburg to Berlin. They met Jens at a quiet street in a forest near his home.

According to Jansch, it was a very warm, emotional scene, when Jens met the two Löfflers. He hugged them both and they started chatting as had he known them for a long time. "First I tried the tandem on my own, and then I rode with both Michael and Katja," said Voigt. "Obviously they don't see the corners, etc. but they can feel it and adapt to your movement, so it was really no problem at all, and I think they had a lot of fun."

The Löfflers couldn't believe their dream had come true, so they called friends and relatives to be sure it really happened. And then the climax; Jens invited them to his home for Christmas cookies. Michael and Katja asked a bunch of questions and they learned a lot about the life and the career of Jens. They were really happy, when they took the train back home.



Pure class.

Thanks coloso. I had remembered that story, but I couldn't remember the specifics or where to find it. Nice post.

That's so cool.

I'm sure there are a lot of the guys in the peloton who are as nice. It's a shame that kind of good stuff is overshadowed by the doping, bickering, etc.

I've always admired and appreciated Jens, even when he wasn't quite as successful as he is now.

I have a funny story about Jens. In 2004, I was just getting back into cycling and didn't know the names or faces of very many riders in the peleton. At any rate, I caught the bug and went to see Lance and the gang in the Tour de Georgia. After the final stage, I hung around and watched all riders cooling down and getting drinks and towels and such. The U23 development team guys all had this blank stare on their faces like they had just survived a war and escaped from a prison camp. I got Bob Roll's autograph and was headed over the Postal bus, but there were already hundreds of people in line so I sauntered over to the CSC area. I approached one of the riders and asked him if Jens was around to get his autograph. This guy, who I realized was American rider, helped me find him to get his autograph. Despite the fact that they were running late to make it to the podium for the best team award, Jens took the time to talk to me and sign my TdG book. Oh, and the guy that helped me find Jens? :innocent: You guessed it - Bobby Julich. Imagine my embarassment when I later figured it out. Just two very nice, humble men. Gotta love 'em.

WWJD? (http://shop.cafepress.com/jens-voight)

I love it....Jesus would be proud of the association!! :lol:

Definitely pick up 'Overcoming' and you'll love the guy even more!

There was a spot on today's stage when the camera moto caught up to Jens spinning along at the back. Jens looked over and pretended to sprint like mad, then sat up and laughed. You gotta love that guy.

I love it....Jesus would be proud of the association!! :lol:

I especially like the t-shirt with the "All of the above" box checked.

Definitely pick up 'Overcoming' and you'll love the guy even more!

Thanks for the tip. It was a great watch (view maybe?).