One of cycling’s most popular riders, the teak-tough German veteran Jens Voigt, will celebrate his 40th birthday while competing in next month’s Tour of Britain.
Voigt will turn 40 on the penultimate day of the race and may well chose to mark it with a characteristically aggressive ride on what is the longest stage, a 200 kilometre leg to Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
He has won three Tour de France stages in his career as well as a record five overall victories in Criterium International, two in the Deutschland Tour and a stage triumph in the Giro d’Italia. However the affection for him is based as much on his zany character and his eyeballs out, shoulder-rocking style of riding.
Those factors have made him one of the top personalities in the sport, and his addition to the lineup will be a major crowd draw for the British event.
Voigt, who has been a loyal team-mate to some of the biggest names in the sport including Ivan Basso and the Schleck brothers, will lead a six man Leopard Trek squad in the race. He is likely to be joined by former Tour de France stage winner and Maillot Jaune Linus Gerdemann, fellow German Dominic Klemme, Will Clarke, Giacomo Nizzolo and the 2006 Tour of Britain victor Martin Pedersen.
Also confirmed for the race is five time world track champion and Olympic silver medallist Theo Bos, who has developed into one of the fastest road sprinters after deciding to concentrate on that wing of the sport. He will form part of a strong Rabobank team, which will also feature the current world under 23 champion Michael Matthews and Vuelta a España and Critérium du Dauphiné stage winner Lars Boom, plus Rick Flens, Bram Tankink and Coen Vermeltfoort.
However the reserve list for the team includes a very interesting rider, who could yet line out en route to what he hopes will be a victorious world championship campaign. 2010 worlds runner-up Matti Breschel crashed out of the Vuelta a España yesterday, suffering a number of injuries including two broken fingers, but if he recovers quickly enough will use the race to prepare for the championships.
They are taking place on his home soil of Denmark this year and having taken silver and bronze in the past, he is very fired up to grab the rainbow jersey.
The Tour of Britain organisers have also confirmed the likely lineups of two other teams; Team Europcar will be led by 2010 Tour de France King of the Mountains Anthony Charteau, while the An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly team will feature An Post Rás winner Gediminas Bagdonas, rising Irish talent Sam Bennett and the British winner of the recent Mi Aout en Bretagne, Mark McNally.
“This year’s Tour of Britain is building up to have our best field yet,” stated race director Mick Bennett. “The fact that UCI World Tour teams like Rabobank and Leopard Trek are sending such strong line-ups speaks volumes about The Tour of Britain and how the race is continuing to go from strength-to-strength.
“With riders like Theo Bos, Thor Hushovd and other top sprinters contesting the sprints, I am sure that both the Yodel Sprints and Prostate Cancer Charity Points Jerseys will be hotly contested.”
The race will also feature the current world champion, Thor Hushovd, who will lead the Garmin-Cervélo team there.
The 2.1-ranked event runs from September 11th until September 18th.
---
Provisional lineups for 2011 Tour of Britain:
Leopard Trek (Luxembourg):
Will Clarke (Aus); Linus Gerdemann (Ger); Dominic Klemme (Ger); Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita); Martin Pedersen (Den); Jens Voigt (Ger)
Rabobank (Netherlands):
Lars Boom (Ned); Theo Bos (Ned); Rick Flens (Ned); Michael Matthews (Aus); Bram Tankink (Ned); Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned)
Reserves: Matti Breschel (Den); Graeme Brown (Aus); Sebastian Langeveld (Ned); Maarten Tjallingii (Ned)
Team Europcar (France):
Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn); Franck Bouyer (Fra); Anthony Charteau (Fra); Damien Gaudin (Fra); Yohann Gene (Fra); Alexandre Pichot (Fra)
Reserves: Mathieu Claude (Fra); Christophe Kern (Fra); Guillaume Le Floch (Fra); Kevin Reza (Fra)
An Post Grant Thornton M. Donnelly Sean Kelly (Belgium):
Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu); Sam Bennett (Irl); Andrew Fenn (GBr); Pieter Ghyllebert (Bel); Ronan McLaughlin (Irl); Mark McNally (GBr)
Reserves: Mark Cassidy (Irl); Niko Eeckhout (Bel); Philip Lavery (Irl); Connor McConvey (Irl); Kenny Terwduwe (Bel)