Congratulations Tejay. So long Jens. The end came today, in more ways than one.
Tag Archives: Jens Voigt
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With His Swan Song Underway…
Photo: Casey B. Gibson | http://www.cbgphoto.com
Five miles to the finish, and the almost-43-year-old “affable German” was leading the way, as if to fan his feathers just one last time. The oldest rider in the peloton did not win the day, but he certainly shaped it. And with still six days to go, he may very well pull off another moment or two yet. In any case, Jens Voigt has begun his well-planned swan song– his last professional cycling race. And with this bittersweet farewell, among all else, the 2014 USA Pro Challenge is well underway across Colorado.
Pedaling On…
If cycling were like the World Series, Peter Sagan would be the overall winner! After all, the ever-impressive national champion of Slovakia has just taken four of seven stages this past week in Colorado. Naturally he remains victorious in his usual color of green, having once again proven his sprinting dominance.
The man in green scores his fourth win of the week.
After two years ago finishing third, then last year second, now– fittingly enough– Colorado’s native son takes first, just as he did at this year’s Tour of California. Tejay Van Garderen has won the 2013 USA Pro Challenge. Along with this we say goodbye on American soil to 2012 PC champion Christian Vande Velde, who’s heading into retirement after a few more races in Europe, hopefully competing alongside 2013 Tour de France champion Chris Froome who surprisingly abandoned the Pro Challenge on stage 7. Meanwhile, his long-range attack this week may not be the last one we see, as 41-year-old Jens Voigt is not retiring this season.
Tejay takes his number one spot on the Denver podium.
So comes and goes another remarkable chapter of professional bicycle racing, this one all the more special for taking place here in the U.S. Pedaling on now to the next, already underway in Spain!
Age Impresses, Youth Prevails.
Age dominates… for a while.
A 41-year-old Tour de France competitor leading a stage is quite a reassuring sight for those of us cyclists nearing that age! Jens Voigt— the oldest rider of this year’s Tour– shed the breakaway and set the pace for more than 30 miles heading into the finish of stage 20. This impressive moment not to be overlooked, youth ultimately prevailed however. The very steady and poker-faced Nairo Quintana finally earned himself not only a stage win in his first Tour, not just the polka dot jersey in addition to the white jersey he was already wearing, but perhaps the biggest accomplishment for the 23-year-old Columbian, a bump up to second place overall. Maybe now this newest rising star of cycling will relax and show us some more personality, perhaps after a lesson or two from the master show-off himself, Peter Sagan.
Speaking of the colorful Slovak, green remains his main one as it has throughout this Tour, aside from his Cannondale kit of course. The green jersey that became Sagan’s after stage 3 and stayed on his back ever since, is sure to be his for keeps in Paris tomorrow, again! This champion sprinter– also 23 by the way– has the right to show off!
Last year’s second is becoming this year’s first. In other words, yellow today did not change shoulders. And on that note, this Centennial Tour is set for its grand finale, as 170 surviving riders– far more than last year’s number– get set to pedal their last 83 miles in this 2,115-mile journey, ending on Le Champs-Elysees as usual, while unusually– at night! I can’t wait to see this, while for other obvious reasons surely the 170 can’t either!
At last, all smiles!
Ryan R. Sanderson 