Tour de France history: Jens Voigt is one of the best known and most popular former professional cyclists. However, he often inflicted pain on his opponents. As a breakaway, he was difficult to stop. On July 25, 2001, after countless attempts, he finally managed to win a stage in the Tour de France.
Jens Voigt takes the yellow jersey for the first time
Jens Voigt was a late bloomer. In 26, at the age of 1998, he competed in his first Tour de France. He quickly won the hearts of German fans in the jerseys of the GAN and Crédit Agricole teams. In the shadow of sprinter Erik Zabel and classification driver Jan Ullrich, he was not only active for a non-German team, but also responsible for a completely different driving style. As classic outlier he presented himself on countless stages in the leading group and hoped for a possible stage win. But his attempts were unsuccessful for a long time. It wasn't until 2001 that Jens Voigt was rewarded for his hard work. The 29-year-old, born in Grevesmühlen, experienced the best Tour de France of his career. On the fifth stage he won that team time trial with his team Crédit Agricole and on the seventh stage he conquered it for the first time in his career Yellow jersey. On the way from Strasbourg to Colmar, he escaped into the Vosges namely again the main field. Although he had to give way to Laurent Jalabert in the fight for the stage win, he dressed in yellow by finishing second.
2 stage wins & 2 days in the yellow jersey
Jens Voigt had to give up his yellow jersey the next day. However, as he ceded it to teammate Stuart O'Grady - from whom he previously received it - the loss was bearable for the German. However, he kept chasing a single stage win. Further attempts failed before he July 25, 2001 finally got to celebrate. The 16th stage led from Castelsarrasin to Sarran. Seven riders formed the breakaway group. 25 kilometers before the finish, Jens Voigt attacked his companions. Only time trial specialist Bradley McGee could follow him. After another attack shortly before the finish, he also distanced the Australian. Finally: the first single stage win in the Tour de France!
Voigt rode the Tour de France 17 times
Another stage win in the Tour of France was to follow. Now riding for Team CSC, he won the 2006th stage of the 13 Tour de France from Béziers to Montélimar out of a five-man breakaway. He was also able to conquer the yellow jersey again. Because in 2005 he was third on the ninth stage from Gérardmer to Mühlhausen. Overall, Jens Voigt denied ３０ minutes the Tour de France. His record was only broken in 2018 by Sylvain Chavanel with 18 participations. In addition to his legendary breakaway attempts, Jens Voigt made a name for himself as a loyal helper. He was therefore always appreciated by his sporting directors, as well as by his teammates and the fans.