The first KOM jersey of 2014 went to Jens Voigt (Trek)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jens Voigt on the attack(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Jens Voigt in polka dots(Image credit: Sirotti)
A fair number of today’s peloton were still on stabilisers when Jens Voigt made his Tour de France debut in 1998 but with the German into his 17th edition of the race he sat down to talk with Cyclingnews about his debut and the features of racing that have change in the period of time since.
Voigt lined up for the 1998 edition of the Tour de France has a fresh-faced neo-pro on the Gan team of Chris Boardman and Stuart O’Grady. It was a race overshadowed by the Festina affair but Voigt and his team enjoyed a number of successes with the German also having a stint in the polka-dot jersey: an experience he has repeated this year.
Since then Voigt has gone onto forge a reputation has one of the most popular riders on the world circuit and won stages in two of the grand tours. This is almost certainly his final Tour de France but the 42-year-old is determined to leave one final impression on the race before bowing out.
In this exclusive video for Cyclingnews Voigt talks about his first Tour de France, the places the race has taken him in the 17 editions he’s started, and how racing has changed since he first turned professional.
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