Getting a RadioShack Nissan contract for 2012 ensures Jens Voigt will remain in the peloton for another year and, as stated in Part I of this interview, could enable him to chase one of the top goals left in his career: helping one of the Schleck brothers win the Tour.
However as things stand right now, the squad has been refused a UCI ProTeam licence and isn’t actually guaranteed a Tour start. That may change in time but, at this precise moment, some uncertainty exists.
On November 2nd the UCI announced that eight teams – Astana, BMC Racing Team, Garmin-Cervélo, Lampre – ISD, Liquigas – Cannondale, Movistar Team, Rabobank and Sky Procycling – would receive the necessary registration to retain their place in the top level of the sport. Two others, namely RadioShack-Nissan and Vacansoleil DCM, were provisionally turned down and must attend a hearing where they will aim to address the reasons for their refusal.
While theories abound as to what the stumbling block has been, few seem to know what the precise reason is. Voigt admits that he’s also in the dark, although he hazards a guess as to what has happened.
“As you can imagine, I am just a bike rider, so they do not discuss every business matter with me, as you can probably imagine,” he told VeloNation, laughing. “As far as I can see it, I think we were probably just running out of time. We have got this merger going, there are a million things to take care of. Agreements need to be signed, contracts need to be finalised, some contracts can be cancelled and so on. So maybe they just didn’t have the time to put the official papers in place so the UCI accepts them.
“I don’t see a problem for us and our licence….I think it was just that we had too much stress in getting the new team going, they just didn’t have time to make the paperwork perfectly the way the UCI wanted it. I don’t think it is a serious problem.
“The team is confident everything will be fine when it has the meeting with the UCI.”
Time will tell if that is indeed the case, but he doesn’t sound like he’s losing shuteye in the meantime.
Falling down, bouncing back and keeping his motivation alive:
If there was a time recently when he couldn’t sleep, it would be down to a physical reason rather than any such team concerns. Back to mid September, Voigt ended up nursing a very painful injury after a bad crash in the Tour of Britain. He was one of several riders who wiped out on the first stage, suffering what was described as a comminuted fracture of his forefinger. In layman’s terms, the impact broke the bone into several pieces, necessitating an operation to enable the healing process to begin.
He was out of the race, of course, and in that left-hand-turn, wheel-sliding incident, the chance for him to compete on his 40th birthday the following Saturday went out the window. His fans had a different scenario plotted out; they wanted to see him go up the road early on, gain time with several others, then later batter the breakaway into submission and solo to the stage victory plus – why not? – the race lead.
Instead, he was far away from the race by the time September 17th rolled around. So, obvious question, was he very disappointed by that? “It depends on how you want to see it,” he answers, being surprisingly philosophical in his reply. “On one side, my birthday in September was rarely at home with my family around me as normally at I am some races. So it was nice to be at home at least once in ten years.
“But it is a high price to pay for it,” he adds. “I am still suffering from that and I am still doing rehabilitation for my hand.
“Also, let’s be honest, there are worse places to spend your birthday than London! It would have been good to be in London then… maybe I would have got so drunk I would have had a speech on Speaker’s Corner in Hyde park, standing there at two in the morning and making a big speech to myself….” He laughs at the idea.
Whatever disappointment he felt has been eased by his recovery from the problem. He confirmed in recent days to VeloNation that he was back training fully on the road, finally using his bike outdoors since last week. It’s reassuring to be back, but he’s also frank that he has a lot of work ahead of him.
“I am back in training, but I am at the basic level,” he says, referring to his condition. “There is still a long way to go. It is good that I have one more year ahead of me, I can focus on something, I have got a goal. I still feel that I have something left to give.”
The key to staying young in sport:
At 40 years of age, Voigt has had many, many off-seasons, and has a set of exercises and sports that he likes to do. He’s worked out what’s best for him and believes strongly that it’s important to have a good spread of activities.
“Today I went running…I like running a lot in the winter. I don’t think I have the best style,” he laughs, “but I did it with passion and that makes up for it. I still do a lot of different sports…I like to go swimming, I like to do lots of mountain biking.
“In the winter I don’t touch the road bike too much. I do a lot of mountainbiking, running, swimming, to get a little out of the usual position you have on your normal road bike. I just like to do something else during the winter, because during the season, all you do is to ride your road bike. Every now and then I like to have a little bit of a change there.”
In fact, when asked, he admits that this switching around of activities has been a big part of his longevity in the sport. “I really believe having a break from the road bike has been important,” he explains. “As they say, variety is a spice of life. Every now and then you need to change things around a little, otherwise you get into this tunnel that you get more and more blind towards other things.
“After two months, when I touch my road bike again, it is such a pleasure…I am so happy. I’m saying, ‘wow, how cool is that, being on the road bike again…’ It is good, it has definitely helped to stay motivated, to keep my mind open and try different things. That has certainly helped me to last a long time.”
However it appears that long time is nearing an end. He’s done a lot during his career, winning three stages in the Tour de France plus one in the Giro, taking editions of the Tour of Poland, Paris-Bourges, the Tour of the Mediterranean and the Grand Prix des Nations, and also netting two titles in the Deutschland Tour plus a record five in the Critérium International. But, even for the most hyperactive rider in the peloton, the batteries eventually run down.
Actually, that’s probably not the reason. To be honest, Voigt’s energy and enthusiasm would still put many to shame. It’s more likely the pull of his family, the interest in doing something else with his life which are the biggest factors.
Thing is, he’s been around so long and is such a big personality in the sport that it is hard to imagine a peloton without him in it. Is it completely certain that he’ll be gone from the bunch at the end of next year? The answer appears initially definite, but also gives his fans something to hope for.
“I would think so, I would think so,” Voigt answers, before pausing. “But hey, never say never, you know? Isn’t there a James Bond movie called something like that? Yep – never say never….”
Read part I of the interview here