Jens was never riding for a german team and in his best years he was out-shadowed by Jan Urlich, Eric Zabel, Andreas Klöden and the Team Telekom. He even was yelled by german cycling fans during TdF 2004 because he was supporting his captain (Ivan Basso, CSC) instead of supporting Jan. In interviews he was constantly challenged by german reporters why he is not supporting is home country and as straight as he is, he said "every real TdF fan knows that each rider is riding for his team and not for his country". The public TV went all over him, how does this "nobody" dare .... well, "real" cyclists in germany actually respected his courage to withstand the public pressure and he is since 2005 he is the spokesperson of the german pro cyclists association.
Than 2007/2008, when all the doping issues came to light first Ulrich, than Zabel than the Team Telekom and they pulled all the money out of the TdF and cycling sports. German public TV stations actually left middle of TdF 2009, since than TdF is not broadcasted anymore and cycling is dead in the public media.
But amoung cyclists and fans, Jens became more and more popular and earned respected. First he changed from a pure attacker to an allrounder and won that as the only german rider, 2 times in 2006 and 2007 the grand german tour. And than TdF 2009, his accident and his episodes in 2010 / 2011 TdF made him to the same ledgendary tough nut.
But honestly I do not envy him, this guy is 120% commited, puts his life and his heart into this sports and he gets in his home contry only 5% of the respect a decend talented teenage soccer player, who had one good season so far. (and i like german soccer).
So I am glad to see that has bigger fan community outside of germany.
Well...in the US he is HUGE. Rather, every cyclist who knows anything about the sport and respects how hard it is has huge respect for Jens -- his work ethic, his courage in and outside of racing, etc. He's just dreamy! It's no coincidence that Jens is the Chuck Norris of cycling for the US cyclist.
I've always thought the coolest thing about JV has been his approach to the sport. He's the anti-diva, and a hero to guys who are role players and who will work hard for others in a race. He's a real pro and has a lot of fun doing it, never taking himself too seriously. In 2010 I saw him after the finish at the top of the Tourmelet (up the "hard" side) where Schleck and Contador beat on each other in the fog and rain. Many of the pros were riding down the hill to town and to their buses including Jens. We asked him how he was doing and he laughed and said "probably like I look". He had crashed a few days earlier and borrowed a fan's bike to finish before the cut off. Tough mofo, but usually smiling and having fun.
In 2010 at TdCal he was getting set to time trial in LA and the announcer described him as hailing from Australia. He and everyone around him had a good laugh and then he went off and had a pretty good tt. He plays hard but stays loose. Smart guy.
I saw him pulling the breakaway up the Mt Baldy KOM in the first few miles of Stage 7, then again in Mt Baldy village, outside of Mt Baldy Lodge where a lot of spectators were gathered. A support car pulled up first and told us that Jens was coming and the crowd just went nuts for him. He was riding by himself.
Here's a tweet from Jens: @JenFletchTri, yes would love to try a triathlon, would do it like most things i do in life. Having no clue- but do it with all my passion
EN Chica Pro Tour Boyfriend Stalking score!!! I just got a personal twitter message from Jens Voigt. Totally saving this one forever!
He is a big geocacher and tweets occasionally about finding caches. Today he tweeted about fixing one of his own caches (who knew he was into it that much!) So I replied to ask what the name of his cache was so I could find it (totally didn't think he'd respond, but what the heck). So now I know Jens has 4 caches and the names of them. I told Joe our next vacation is to Berlin for some Geocaching!!!!
anyone else follow Jens on Twitter...someone needs to explain to that guy that its "tweets" and not a blog...he cracks me up with the 5-10 tweets in a row of comments..
The power analysis from his stage win reveals Jen's superhuman engine...he pulled 4.25 w/kg pNorm for the stage
"On Independence Pass alone, he averaged 370W (4.8w/kg) for 52:25, and dropped his breakaway companions with sustained hard efforts at 390W (5.0 w/kg). On the descent of Independence Pass, he averaged 36.2 mph, hit a max speed of 48.8 mph and averaged 266W — while riding downhill.
Once on the flat, Voigt pounded out a hard tempo between 300W to 320W, averaging 21.5 mph. Remember, he was riding between 9,000 and 10,000 feet of elevation for much of the way to the finish! Voigt’s functional threshold power (FTP) at sea level is around 420-440W, so adjusting 12 percent off for the elevation, I’ve estimated Voigt’s FTP at 370W for this high elevation race."
Okay, as I posted on the dashboard today, I was VERY dismayed to find out that the one and only Jens was in Dallas last night on his way thru to Austin. He spectated and even heckled a local CX race, from what I was told AFTER the fact.
If I would've known he was local, I would have shown up in my EN jersey and taken a pic with him for Coach Rich to drool over.
Comments
Rich, the answer if difficult.
Jens was never riding for a german team and in his best years he was out-shadowed by Jan Urlich, Eric Zabel, Andreas Klöden and the Team Telekom. He even was yelled by german cycling fans during TdF 2004 because he was supporting his captain (Ivan Basso, CSC) instead of supporting Jan. In interviews he was constantly challenged by german reporters why he is not supporting is home country and as straight as he is, he said "every real TdF fan knows that each rider is riding for his team and not for his country". The public TV went all over him, how does this "nobody" dare .... well, "real" cyclists in germany actually respected his courage to withstand the public pressure and he is since 2005 he is the spokesperson of the german pro cyclists association.
Than 2007/2008, when all the doping issues came to light first Ulrich, than Zabel than the Team Telekom and they pulled all the money out of the TdF and cycling sports. German public TV stations actually left middle of TdF 2009, since than TdF is not broadcasted anymore and cycling is dead in the public media.
But amoung cyclists and fans, Jens became more and more popular and earned respected. First he changed from a pure attacker to an allrounder and won that as the only german rider, 2 times in 2006 and 2007 the grand german tour. And than TdF 2009, his accident and his episodes in 2010 / 2011 TdF made him to the same ledgendary tough nut.
But honestly I do not envy him, this guy is 120% commited, puts his life and his heart into this sports and he gets in his home contry only 5% of the respect a decend talented teenage soccer player, who had one good season so far. (and i like german soccer).
So I am glad to see that has bigger fan community outside of germany.
Wow! I had no idea!
Well...in the US he is HUGE. Rather, every cyclist who knows anything about the sport and respects how hard it is has huge respect for Jens -- his work ethic, his courage in and outside of racing, etc. He's just dreamy! It's no coincidence that Jens is the Chuck Norris of cycling for the US cyclist
.
I've always thought the coolest thing about JV has been his approach to the sport. He's the anti-diva, and a hero to guys who are role players and who will work hard for others in a race. He's a real pro and has a lot of fun doing it, never taking himself too seriously. In 2010 I saw him after the finish at the top of the Tourmelet (up the "hard" side) where Schleck and Contador beat on each other in the fog and rain. Many of the pros were riding down the hill to town and to their buses including Jens. We asked him how he was doing and he laughed and said "probably like I look". He had crashed a few days earlier and borrowed a fan's bike to finish before the cut off. Tough mofo, but usually smiling and having fun.
In 2010 at TdCal he was getting set to time trial in LA and the announcer described him as hailing from Australia. He and everyone around him had a good laugh and then he went off and had a pretty good tt. He plays hard but stays loose. Smart guy.
WWJD...What would Jens do?!?
Here's his Paris-Nice race report...bicycling.com/blogs/hardlyserious/2...surprises/
http://bicycling.com/blogs/hardlyserious/2012/04/24/goodbye-classics-hello-california
But ....Check out the video
Some great Jens quotes here, not surprisingly!
www.cyclingnews.com/news/voigt-says...rior-shape
Jens for Governor!
www.cyclingnews.com/news/voigt-show...california
I'd vote for him!
I saw him pulling the breakaway up the Mt Baldy KOM in the first few miles of Stage 7, then again in Mt Baldy village, outside of Mt Baldy Lodge where a lot of spectators were gathered. A support car pulled up first and told us that Jens was coming and the crowd just went nuts for him. He was riding by himself.
@JenFletchTri, yes would love to try a triathlon, would do it like most things i do in life. Having no clue- but do it with all my passion
"it was beautiful."
Jens on what he'll do when he retires is awesome:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2012...ent_226360
He is a big geocacher and tweets occasionally about finding caches. Today he tweeted about fixing one of his own caches (who knew he was into it that much!) So I replied to ask what the name of his cache was so I could find it (totally didn't think he'd respond, but what the heck). So now I know Jens has 4 caches and the names of them. I told Joe our next vacation is to Berlin for some Geocaching!!!!
http://www.radioshacknissantrek.com/news/jens-voigt-renews-radioshack-nissan-trek
Awesome! I had just about given up hope on 2013 given the Mayan Apocalypse and what not. Now I have a reason to stick around!!!
No love for Jens' victory in Beaver Creek and the USA Pro Challenge yesterday?!? For SHAME! What kind of Jens fans are you!
velonews.competitor.com/2012/08/new...nge_235672
The power analysis from his stage win reveals Jen's superhuman engine...he pulled 4.25 w/kg pNorm for the stage
"On Independence Pass alone, he averaged 370W (4.8w/kg) for 52:25, and dropped his breakaway companions with sustained hard efforts at 390W (5.0 w/kg). On the descent of Independence Pass, he averaged 36.2 mph, hit a max speed of 48.8 mph and averaged 266W — while riding downhill.
If I would've known he was local, I would have shown up in my EN jersey and taken a pic with him for Coach Rich to drool over.
Alright boys and girls, our boy - and Rich's man crush - is at it again, in what could be (forbid) his final season as a pro!
velonews.competitor.com/2013/01/new...ter_271964
OMG?! There's still a Pro Bike Tour?
“Now people will know who took the first attack this year,” he said. “I will never learn to get smart. … I am still doing the stupid things."