Professional Cycling For the Fans - So if Jens Voigt is that hurt

then I have to assume that the pavement was destroyed and will need to be repaved. Jen's Voigt doesn't crash, he head butts the pavement.

In all seriousness, we should keep him in our prayers.

Thanks for the spoiler, dude.

Wow good point, I didn't even think about that, my bad and I'm always getting pissed when ppl spoil, can a mod delete this actually.

for god's sake, this is a bike forum. if people log on, then discover a spoiler, tough sit.

ps - voigt crashed. hard.

I'm very sorry to hear that. Jens is my favorite sportsman currently racing. I had VIP passes for Palomar Summit at this year's ToC, but my dog got attacked the day before and I missed seeing him lead the charge. (And of course they're not releasing a DVD of it this year. Figures.)
I can't think of anyone else who would gift a TdF stage win to someone the way he has, (after sitting on them the whole way for the sake of his team.)
I hope he's okay.

for god's sake, this is a bike forum. if people log on, then discover a spoiler, tough sit.

ps - voigt crashed. hard.

Yah but i should have put it in the title doh'.

No word for 4 hours. Man I hope Jens is OK. That's one of the worst crashes I've ever seen.

This info on Yahoo sports:

The final descent was perilous: Jens Voigt of Germany crashed either from a bicycle malfunction or a bump in the road. The Tour’s medical staff said he severely bruised his face and right elbow, and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in the French city of Grenoble.

“He lost consciousness for a while, but he should be OK,” CSC team manager Bjarne Riis said. “For me, it’s a good sign.”

No word for 4 hours. Man I hope Jens is OK. That's one of the worst crashes I've ever seen.

I'm thinking the same and wondering what exactly caused it.

To me that is just as bad as the crash that rider had in front of Lance in 03' (his name slips me).

This info on Yahoo sports:

The final descent was perilous: Jens Voigt of Germany crashed either from a bicycle malfunction or a bump in the road. The Tour’s medical staff said he severely bruised his face and right elbow, and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in the French city of Grenoble.

“He lost consciousness for a while, but he should be OK,” CSC team manager Bjarne Riis said. “For me, it’s a good sign.”

Fail.

To me that is just as bad as the crash that rider had in front of Lance in 03' (his name slips me).

I guess FWIW my original post was "then I can't imagine how bad the asphalt took it, I have to imagine that there is a crater where his face punched the ground, but srsly have voigt in your prayers tonight".

joseba "beaky" beloki.

This info on Yahoo sports:

The final descent was perilous: Jens Voigt of Germany crashed either from a bicycle malfunction or a bump in the road. The Tour’s medical staff said he severely bruised his face and right elbow, and was flown by helicopter to a hospital in the French city of Grenoble.

“He lost consciousness for a while, but he should be OK,” CSC team manager Bjarne Riis said. “For me, it’s a good sign.”

Interesting. It kinda looked like the bike (front wheel/fork) somehow failed. It was too fast for me to tell.

Interesting. It kinda looked like the bike (front wheel/fork) somehow failed. It was too fast for me to tell.

having hit objects/bumps at speed, i tend to go with the theory that he hit a rut in the road.

Jesus, that was ugly. Kind of looks like the surface of the road changed right where he went down. Hope he's OK.

Interesting. It kinda looked like the bike (front wheel/fork) somehow failed. It was too fast for me to tell.

I'm gong with Akums Razor.

OK, I had to look. Youtube videos don't make it any clearer to me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eY6ljmQfvjI

I'm thinking the same and wondering what exactly caused it.

It was apparently a bump in the road that caught him by surprise. It may be that he was planning to reposition his left hand just as the tire hit the bump.

Also could be his hand was ON very lightly and the bump jarred it off. You can see his body lurch up at the bump, then the tire twists to the left just before he starts to go down. Only Jens knows for sure unless someone has a side angle.

Only Jens knows for sure unless someone has a side angle.

A crash that bad, he won't remember.

It looked like the painted line was maybe covering one of those gum filled cracks in the roadway. It looked like the front tire just got stuck in it and hauled him down fast. We were all cringing here after seeing it. Hope he's OK, he totally face planted.

this video is much clearer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V0VsKznyzA

Looks like he either broke a bar, or the steerer, or as mentioned above knocked his hand off the bars.

There are pics that show the bike is in one piece after the crash. Nothing failed.

Best vid I've seen from kimconyc in the pro cycling forum (http://www.bikeforums.net/showpost.php?p=9324142&postcount=5). Seems like he hit a bump that led to a nasty speed wobble.

http://www.steephill.tv/players/tinypic/?title=tdf-09-st16-jens-voigt-crash&id=33n926f

Looks like he was out for a good 3-4 minutes. Hope he's doing better now.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2009/07/21/2009-07-21_tour_crash.html

http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/07/22/alg_jens-voigt.jpg

http://www.steephill.tv/players/tinypic/?title=tdf-09-st16-jens-voigt-crash&id=33n926f

It's a rut on the road and the wheel slipped out.

To address the OPs concerns about the thread. I don't see this as a ruinous sort of spoiler. IMO, "spoilers' reveal overall results of current races, not details from the race. Since the topic is relevant and concerns a popular rider and is getting conversation I'm not in favor of deleting it.

Overall, I tend to agree with botto (heaven help me :) ) regarding spoilers in general but would appreciate it if actual spoilers went into the Pro Cycling Forum.

That video shows a pretty clear rut in the road. Yikes.

There are pics that show the bike is in one piece after the crash. Nothing failed.

Yeah, the steephill.tv video shows a closeup of is left hand being knocked off the bars.

To address the OPs concerns about the thread. I don't see this as a ruinous sort of spoiler. IMO, "spoilers' reveal overall results of current races, not details from the race. Since the topic is relevant and concerns a popular rider and is getting conversation I'm not in favor of deleting it.

Overall, I tend to agree with botto (heaven help me :) ) regarding spoilers in general but would appreciate it if actual spoilers went into the Pro Cycling Forum.

ps ;)

http://cdn.media.cyclingnews.com//2009/07/21/2/dv553781_600.jpg

You know I get paid to work with smart***** kids but this is a volunteer position. :)

Edit: For the real literal here I realize botto is not a kid. That's why I used a smilie. ;)

After watching that crucial moment on the video several time, it looks like his left hand was transitioning from brake hoods to drops at a bad moment. I hate it and I hope he's okay. :(

Maybe it was the cable routing.

I've been bumped out of the seat a few times, even had a bump get my hands off the bars once. Never been bumped while shifting hand positions. Hope he's going to be ok, that was terrible.

Yeah, the steephill.tv video shows a closeup of is left hand being knocked off the bars.

Yep, and it looks like he tried to re-grab and missed. Bummer.

Maybe it was the cable routing.

a call for Di2?

his rear wheel was completely off the ground during the direction change as well as the hand transition.... bad stuff either way.

That's one of the worst crashes I've ever seen.

C'mon really? Worst ever?

For starters, youtube : cipo 94 vuelta. I can think of many more worse than Voigt's.

http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n127/badfishgood/8.jpg

http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/95591/voigt-recovering-in-grenoble

Well I guess that's good news, but look at his message to the team what a great guy.

I just watched the crash in HD, frame by frame.

Jens went towards the bump, hands resting on the hoods, elbows straight, left leg straight, bottom solidly planted on the saddle.

The bump loosed his grip from the bars and launched him off the saddle. The rear wheel clearly came off the ground, also.

Bummer, sorry it had to happen to one of my favorite riders. But I noticed he was violating a few of the important safety rules of descending:

1. On technical descents, use the drops instead of the hoods.
2. Keep a firm grip on the bars at all times.
3. Maintain a relaxed bend in your elbows.
4. Carry most of your weight on your pedals, not your saddle.

Ride safe.

From Armstrong's twitter page: "Just heard from Frank Schleck that Jens is doing ok. Good news."

http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/95591/voigt-recovering-in-grenoble

Well I guess that's good news, but look at his message to the team what a great guy.

Andy quoted Jens a little differently: http://twitter.com/andy_schleck/statuses/2764920358

1. On technical descents, use the drops instead of the hoods.


Although I don't want to derail the thread, can someone quickly explain this to me? I've only been riding for a few years and have never done any descent that would be described as "technical," but on high-speed descents I always feel much more comfortable coming out of the drops and onto the hoods. I feel much more stable and feel like I am more in control. Is my perception wrong?

Jens appears to be fine (http://tour-de-france.velonews.com/article/95591/voigt-recovering-in-grenoble).

How great is that?

Daaaannnng! If Jens looks like that - Is the pavement okay?

In all seriousness though, I hope he recovers fully ;(

Although I don't want to derail the thread, can someone quickly explain this to me? I've only been riding for a few years and have never done any descent that would be described as "technical," but on high-speed descents I always feel much more comfortable coming out of the drops and onto the hoods. I feel much more stable and feel like I am more in control. Is my perception wrong?

The hoods 'capture' your hands vertically because your hands are nestled in an arc that is a smaller radius than the rotation of your elbow, and the bars extend both above and below. If you hit a harsh bump, your hand will only move up or down so far, and you have a much better chance of regaining control. You also have a much better grip on the brakes.

On the hoods, you're working harder to squeeze the brakes, and if you hit a big bump, the only thing keeping your hands on is your grip strength. That is, *if* you were paying attention.

Here is what happened after seeing the replay on one of the links on steephill.tv:

On the descent, Jens was applying the front brakes (probably the rear too), when the front wheel hit the painted divider, it slipped and the bike was out of control at that point. Those painted white lines have caused cyclist grief in the past, 2 or 3 years ago I remembered a racer going down on a TTT after hitting it.

Good to know that he appears to be alright now... although he won't be back in the saddle anytime soon.

It seemed to coincide with the bike passing over that painted white line as cyclocommuter observed. That's the first thing that occurred to me after seeing the replays on TV.

for god's sake, this is a bike forum. if people log on, then discover a spoiler, tough sit.

ps - voigt crashed. hard.

+100000. If you don't like spoilers, get off the intartubez.

The hoods 'capture' your hands vertically because your hands are nestled in an arc that is a smaller radius than the rotation of your elbow, and the bars extend both above and below. If you hit a harsh bump, your hand will only move up or down so far, and you have a much better chance of regaining control. You also have a much better grip on the brakes.

Think you mean to write "drops" above, instead of "hoods".

Another benefit of descending on the drops: if you have the need to brake hard, it' much easier to push back with your hands and keep your body from moving forward with respect to the bike. The hard braking position is pushing back against the drops, with your chest low and butt off the back of the saddle.

+100000. If you don't like spoilers, get off the intartubez.

The next thing you'll tell him is that his state of the art Betamax machine is outmoded.

C'mon really? Worst ever?

For starters, youtube : cipo 94 vuelta. I can think of many more worse than Voigt's.

[IMG]http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n127/badfishgood/8.jpg[/gross]

I had seen this before, but had to watch it again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1Y_KOwa5pA

Here is what happened after seeing the replay on one of the links on steephill.tv:

On the descent, Jens was applying the front brakes (probably the rear too), when the front wheel hit the painted divider, it slipped and the bike was out of control at that point. Those painted white lines have caused cyclist grief in the past, 2 or 3 years ago I remembered a racer going down on a TTT after hitting it.

Good to know that he appears to be alright now... although he won't be back in the saddle anytime soon.

Except that his left hand is nowhere near the brake lever, and apparently not on the bar at all when the front wheel slips out. The steephill video shows his left hand getting knocked off the hood when he goes over a bump. His weight could have come down hard on his right hand, which would have pushed the wheel sharply left if his left hand wasn't on the bar. And/or, his tire could have been caught by a rut that was on the white line, which also would have pushed the wheel sharply left if only his right hand was on the bar.