Tour de France history: On July 20.07.2004th, XNUMX there was a moderate cycling crisis in Germany. When Jan Ullrich attacked, Jens Voigt had to hunt him down. Completely legitimate, because they drove in different teams. What followed was a hunt – not legitimate.
Ullrich puts everything on one card
The year is 2004. The Tour de France also began in Liège that year. Having returned to Team T-Mobile, Jan Ullrich was once again considered one of Lance Armstrong 's most promising challengers . The Texan had won the previous five editions and aimed to become the sole record holder with his sixth victory in 2004. And things were looking good for him, as after 14 stages, Jan Ullrich, partly due to a cold and consequently poor results in the Pyrenees, was almost seven minutes behind. However, Lance Armstrong found new challengers in his teammate Andreas Klöden and the Italian Ivan Basso from Team CSC. On the 15th stage, Team T-Mobile tried again with an attack from Jan Ullrich. The then 30-year-old attacked early on the 180,5-kilometer stage from Valréas to Villard-de-Lans in an attempt to build as large a lead as possible.
Riis calls Voigt back for Basso
On the same day, Jens Voigt – teammate of Ivan Basso – was part of a breakaway group. Since Jan Ullrich 's attack was also an attack on the Tour podium, Team CSC had to react. Lance Armstrong had support riders with him, but the Texan saw no need to force Jan Ullrich back. His lead over the German was, after all, comfortable. So CSC team manager Bjarne Riis made a decision. Jens Voigt had to drop back to support his captain, Ivan Basso . No sooner said than done. Jens Voigt moved to the front of the group and began the chase. It was successful, as the gap was closed. The stage win went to Lance Armstrong ahead of Ivan Basso. The top four general classification contenders – Armstrong, Klöden, Basso, and Ullrich – were separated by only six seconds on this stage.
German fans see the culprit in Voigt
Although Jens Voigt did a fantastic job, he felt the wrath of German fans the following day. ARD commentator Hagen Boßdorf criticized the Berlin native during the live broadcast for chasing Jan Ullrich . During the mountain time trial to Alpe d'Huez, Jens Voigt was subjected to a barrage of insults. German viewers saw him as a traitor. This is surprising, as the rationale behind chasing should be as clear to any cycling fan as the necessity of loyalty. After all, Team CSC was fighting to defend its podium position. At the end of the Tour de France, Ivan Basso finished third, 2:10 minutes ahead of Jan Ullrich. If Jens Voigt hadn't chased Jan Ullrich on that 15th stage, and Ullrich had finished more than 2:10 minutes ahead of Ivan Basso, Team CSC would have lost its podium position to Jan Ullrich.
Jan Ullrich:
"It can't be that Jens is being hunted down like that. I almost cried when I found out what happened to Jens. He's been a great buddy for years and he's done the right thing."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEJr8SH-6tQ