Jens Voigt Is Soon Fully Recovered

It was an ugly scene when Team Saxo Bank locomotive, Jens Voigt, hit the asphalt on a descent during the Tour de France with 80 km/h. It was a painful loss for the course witnessing an always colorful figure and not least an important and loyal help to Andy and Fränk Schleck abandon the race due to a crash that made cycling fans worldwide hold their breath. But the consequences of the accident could have been much more extensive, if the German veteran had not been wearing his helmet:

“I remember absolutely nothing from the crash. The last thing I remember is that we just made it over the climb and Bjarne (Riis) asked me to drop back in the group and let the others pull in the chase before the final. I was then planning on retrieving bottles for my teammates. The next thing I remember I was awake in an ambulance where my very first thoughts were: Why am I here? I want to go back to the race. I want to go to Paris with the team. But soon the pain told me that there was a reason why I was on my way to the hospital.

Apparently I had landed face first with an ugly fracture of my cheek bone as a result. If I had crashed without my helmet the outcome would have been far more severe. My scull would have fractured instead, says Jens Voigt from his parents’ home in Lübeck, where he spends the weekend with his wife and five children. And the family is the natural core of the Team Saxo Bank-rider’s life:

“Only after the helicopter ride to the University Hospital in Grenoble and numerous studies and stitches I was able to get to a phone at ten o’clock at night to tell my wife that I was pretty much ok and that I would not get chronic injuries from the accident. The doctors took so many x-ray images of me that I still fluorescent in the dark. My youngest daughter of four years watched the crash while she was alone in front of the TV, and it obviously did a great impression on her. My older boys seemed mainly obtained with the fact that I was the coolest dad since the crash was the second most downloaded video on youtube in the days after the accident”, says Jens Voigt, who in his own warm-hearted fashion because of the crash has gained an even greater perspective on life:

“At the rehabilitation center I was in good hands. My brain was tested in so many ways and my body was re-generated by doing water gymnastics. But at the center I was forced to turn the focus away from myself as I witnessed the fates many times worse than my own that I felt guilty about having escaped so easily from the crash. After doing 80 km/h hitting the asphalt head first I got away without permanent injuries. And here I was walking around watching a father motionless sitting in a wheelchair, from which he was fed by his wife after a fatal fall from the chair he was standing on while changing a light bulb. It certainly provides food for thought”.

But that doesn’t mean that Jens Voigt is now questioning his own career:

“I am not a quitter and never was. I’m not the kind of guy to give up because of external circumstances. After having watched the crash several times it is clear that there was nothing I could have done to prevent the fall. The crash was accidental and accidental incidents should not determine whether I should put an end to my career. I will stop my career when the time is ripe, and I am not done competing for the best cycling team in the world. Team Saxo Bank means a lot to me. I feel extremely well in the company of all the riders, staff and all the people around the team. To trust and to be able to get along with all employees is a priceless gift and I enjoy spending time with the guys in a way that I simply can not live without”.

And if Jens is to decide it will not be long before we will be able to watch the indomitable rider back in the peloton:

“I was eager to participate in the Tour of Denmark but the doctors and Bjarne wisely asked me not to go. However, I will hopefully get the green light next week by the doctors to train at full speed again, and I hope to do the Tour of Missouri from September 7th. First of all in order to convince myself that I am still able to compete. But not least because I want to get out there and show the world and my fans that I am ok and I appreciate the support I have received during my absence”.

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