
Saxo Bank's Jens Voigt shrugged off the pain of more crash injuries on the Tour de France 16th stage in a bid to help team-mate Andy Schleck win the race's yellow jersey.
Voigt, one of the Danish team's most powerful riders, was hurtling down the descent of the Col de Peyresourde, the first of four mountain passes, when he suffered a puncture and crashed at top speed.
The German managed to avoid a repeat of the horrific injuries he suffered during last year's race when he landed on his face and head at top speed, also on a descent.
After waving away the help of race assistants in the broom wagon, Voigt battled on to finish the stage with the "grupetto" - the group of sprinters and non-climbers who club together in a bid to beat the time cut-off.
"I'm doing 70 kilometres an hour on the first descent when my front tyre explodes," explained Voigt.
"Before I hit the asphalt I actually manage to think that this is going to hurt. Both knees, elbows, hands, shoulders and the entire left side of my body were severely hurt.
"My ribs are hurting but hey, broken ribs are overrated anyway. Fortunately, I didn't land on my face this time and I'm still alive.
"I was offered a ride on the truck that picks up abandoned riders but I'm not going to quit another Tour de France
"Now, there's a rest day and Paris is not that far away."
I came over the top only 20 seconds down on the front group, but about 2 kilometers into the descent my front tire blew and I thought, “Oh God,” and I went down. Just one year after my horrible crash, and there I was tumbling on another mountain descent. And let me tell you, about the only place that feels good right now is my right ankle. The rest of me is all road rash. Plus I’ve got five stitches in my left elbow and then there are some ribs that are not in the right place! I may have to get x-rays, but I hate x-rays (the radiation), and plus, if I’ve got a fractured rib, what can anyone do about it?
The worst thing of all was that I almost got forced out of the Tour for a second year in a row. The problem was that the first team car was behind Andy Schleck, and the second had decided to go up ahead to hand out water bottles at the foot of the next climb. As a result I had no bike, because mine was shattered.
So then the broom wagon pulled up and was like, “Do you want to just get in?” And I said, “Oh no, I don’t need YOU!” But there I am with blood spurting out my left elbow and no bike. Finally, the race organizers got me a bike, but it was this little yellow junior bike. It was way too small for me and even had old-fashioned toe-clip pedals. But that is the only way I could get down the mountain, so I had to ride it for like 15-20 kilometers until I finally got to a team car with my bike.
Then, I still had to get up to the grupetto. All I can say is that that desperate times need desperate measures, but I got up there. And once I did it was grupetto all day long.


slim wrote:70% coordinated.
toivo wrote:toe clips ++
70% coordinated.
JakeDatc wrote:You try to hold front tire blow out at 44mph... unlikely.
RockPharmer wrote:JakeDatc wrote:You try to hold front tire blow out at 44mph... unlikely.
i love how you stay completely quiet for 49 straight weeks out of the year, but once the boldering forum starts talking about the TdF, you suddenly reappear?!
xoxo jakester ;)

efff wrote:why didn't the saxo team car show up a little while later and give him his spare bike??? jens is fucking awesome, the total opposite of the jens at 8a.nu!!!






Tronic wrote:This is Erick Dampier's bike. I think he likes blue and orange.

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