End of an Error
Jens Voigt is set to retire as we speak, having one final crack at a long break in some race in the Cycling backwater of the USA. Is it fair or fitting that he should go out like this, slipping out the back door with little fanfare, while others have been doing a farewell tour of all the big races, replete with fancy commemorative shoes and a song and dance? It’s probably apt that Jens is just doing what he’s always done: getting on with the job at hand and not saying too much. It’s almost like he’s been given the Golden Handshake, received his gold watch (well, another Trek), and gently herded out of the room, along with the elephant.
There’s no doubt that Jens is a hero to almost the entire cycling world; fans and contemporaries alike instantly warm to the big guy. He’s probably a great bloke to get on the beers with, keeping everyone entertained with his goofy German sense of humour (an oxymoron, I know) and regaling his enthralled audience with stories of that time he towed the peloton up the Galibier, dropping pure climbers like flies one by one. And because he’s a big, goofy, lovable German, no-one would even consider to question his morals or ethics when it comes to his role in the sport, and his considerable time in it. He’s Jens, he’s a bloody legend.
There’s always double standards applied when it comes to our Cycling heroes. Pantani: revered, matyred. Gunderson: condemned. Contador: forgiven, re-accepted. Valverde: despised. O’Grady, Rogers: well, they’re Australian, so even though they admitted/tested positive, no Aussie would ever cheat, right? They’re just lovable larrikins who got caught in the crossfire, and were unlucky or only “did it once”. Sir, your pig is fuelled and ready for take-off.
I’ve loved watching Jens going on crazy long breaks, laughed at the many soundbites he’s provided us, and he was even convinced to mouth our catchcry, although he probably had no clue as to what he was being cajoled into. He always has time for his fans, and that’s a sign of a true champion of the people. Imagine if Gunderson was a bit more humourous, if he’d cracked a few jokes instead of cracking skulls, if he’d told some part of his body to ‘shut up’ instead of telling other riders to do the same. Maybe he’d still be squeaky clean in the eyes of the fans, just like Jens.
While I respect a man who has ridden at the front of the peloton for 20 years and well into his 40s, and take inspiration from that, I can’t just sit here and digest every stock-standard quote that is rolled out. Jens came from one of the world’s most notorious doping programs in the East German system, but somehow wasn’t earmarked for the treatment. He rode professionally from 1997, the height of the EPO era, through Festina, through the Gunderson years, through the Landis/Rasmussen/Contador years. Yet he saw nothing. He rode on teams with more than a sprinkling of convicted and/or known dopers, yet he heard nothing. He rode under Directors Sportif who oversaw some of the biggest doping programs ever witnessed, yet he witnessed nothing himself. He continued to race at the same high level, and above, as the world’s best racers, well past the age when they threw in the towel, yet he wants us to believe he’s done it all on mineral water and sauerkraut.
While I love the guy, I’m not stupid, and neither are the cycling public. We don’t need to be treated like fools by every rider that ever rode in the Pro ranks, but we are, still. Even Gunderson has admitted he’d still be lying to us all, his family, children and cancer community if he hadn’t been outed. That’s the mentality of the Omérta in action. Jens is as old school as they come, and unfortunately he’s taking that mindset with him into retirement.
I wish Jens all the best, but I also wish he’d shown the same hardman qualities off the bike as he did on it, and spoken out about what he did actually see, hear and do. That would make him even more a legend.
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No question in my mind that he doped, and I admit to being hypocritical about it – shake my head at guys like Lance/Rasmussen/Alberto/etc., but go on loving Jensie. Certainly a lot of it has to do with his personality. Being a nice guy can get you pretty far. But I think some of it also has to do with the sheer outlandish-ness of his riding and the fact that, while it makes for compelling viewing, it rarely results in wins (at least these days). Guys who aren’t taking wins away from others via pharmaceutical means seem to have an easier go of it with fans and other riders alike.
I wasn’t expecting this article to be what it is. Jens gets a big ol’ :-/ from me.
I’m glad someone said it. I enjoy watching/listening to Jens as much as anyone, but I find it ridiculous that he’s been elevated to the level he has without the questioning that’s come of other riders of his generation.
@Nosyt
Well put.
True, true. Fair and balanced, article and comments, both.
And yet …
… and yet …
…………. *sob*
Big sport thrives on the Jens’ brand of mythology. Fans get a bigger kick from suspending disbelief and constructing outrageous heroes and legends. Proper examination of the hard facts only ruins the fun.
Jens has unashamedly bought into, and cashed in on his own myth. I guess he learned from his buddy Stu that coming clean really means being permanantly muddied. His farewell solo escapades have been just a little bit sad. For me.
Exhibit A (I don’t know how to cut down the clip)
Post stage interviews – Brad McGee and Jens Voigt – TdF Stage 16, 2001 (cut up to the 20 miute mark).
All well said. It seems I rely heavily on the delusion of my own abilities and those of my heroes. When the reality of either sets in, I sigh heavily in resignation – as now. Then I plan my next big ride and watch a race filled with impossible feats for inspiration. And the delusion resumes.
@Calmante
Welcome back, my friend!
WOW… Man I’m showing how little I know about history and how naive I am about this kinda thing… ol’ Jensie I’ve come to think of as one cool cat and quite a lot of fun to watch race. And it never crossed my mind to think of him in this light. I don’t know, maybe all of the sh** associated with the doping and such just doesn’t confront me and leave me questioning everything.
Honestly, my intro to it all was as a fan of baseball not cycling. And think about this: Cal Ripkin played 2,600+ straight games and right in to what I guess was the heart of the steroids and HGH scene. Just maybe, a little maybe, is it possible, that he may have had a little cream rubbed on a sore back or something like that during the streak? So while Clemons, McGwire, Sosa, Bonds, Pameiro, and whoever else w/accomplishments all get associated with it… Cal gets a pass? He’s certainly never spoke out about what he did or did not know. Any different than Jens in this instance?
I’ve never attached the Iron Man to any of the BS, and flat out loved to watch him and the O’s play at Camden Yards when I was living in B’more, and same with Jens. Heck, a case might even be made of exactly the opposite! That their non-use of PEDs or whatever else provided them with longevity in their sports and their bodies not breaking down.
I don’t care one way or the other. I still like Jens Despite all of the innuendo. He comes across an extremely likable guy that just happens to be a true hard man as well. I don’t believe that he has any obligation to talk about what he may or may not have seen. Looking backwards serves nonreal purpose. My opinion has always been that cycling needed to deal with the issue of doping by drawing a line in the sand and instituting measures with some real teeth in them from that point forward. You simply cannot unwind the clock…
I prefer being naïve. Of course everyone has a right to his/her opinion, but to denigrate Jensie’s career and character simply based on the fact that part of his career overlapped the time when most of them were doping isn’t fair in my mind. I wouldn’t exactly call him a superstar, so if he was doping, he should have gone to a better doctor/dealer. What is the point of disparaging him now? He appears to be a great family man and is definitely a funny, nice guy.
It’s a fair appreciation – can’t argue with any of it.
But I will offer a possible defence to his Sergeant Schultz “I saw nothing” act, which is that he has always been pretty self-contained and quiet, this isn’t something new. Generally when you hear or read him saying something it’s about him or his team, not somebody else. He’s never set himself up to be the patron or some sort of figurehead.
So to deliver a valedictory commentary on the sport and doping for the last 20 years would be utterly out of character.
In that sense I respect his position. He deals with himself, with his own performance and his own issues. More die-hard fans might even say that tends to validate the idea that he really wasn’t involved, but personally I think that’s a stretch.
So while I would be fascinated to know all that he really does know, I think if he wants to keep schtum then he’s earned the right to do so.
This is thought-provoking. I am not a “dude of cycling” having come to this sport (road, anyway) in the past year or so, so I have little context here. It sure seems like everyone winning was doping, or probably doping, as the author suggests with anecdotal proof that is compelling, but also still, anecdotal.
Can we just all get behind the 100k solo effort at the USA pro challenge when the dude was … 39? OLD, anyway. That’s enough for me, frankly. Team Jens.
Also, my 4-year-old, inborn mimic as kids are, does a great imitation of Jens’ V face (having giggled at the funny German guy on youtube) when he rides up hills and i tell him to drop me, so don’t let’s ruin that, whatever happens.
Did Jens dope? If so, would that would make him a jackass? A funny jackass?
@Harminator
Watch the interviews, and read this (by McGee): http://www.theage.com.au/sport/cycling/how-dopers-stole-the-best-years-of-my-career-20121026-28aif.html
It’s hard to say who did and didn’t dope, but that reads like pain to me.
I’ve just finished Christophe Bassons book. He refuses to name other riders who weren’t doping (apparently there were some), but McGee (who was his teammate) was one of the few riders he had anything good to say about at all (he called him much more talented than Chris Horner, who joined the team at the same time)
Interestingly, Bassons is much more positive about Armstrong than he is about many other riders.
(Bassons book is ok, but I wouldn’t describe it as a must read. Laurent Fignon’s book is better if you want a book by a French cyclist, and Hamilton’s is better if you want one about doping. OTOH, at least this supports someone who didn’t cheat)
Here’s my take, and I’m certain many won’t agree: who cares? Did he dope? Of course, it seems most riders were – this is no new revelation. Why try to drag down a good rider and nice guy for doing something every pro was doing (is doing?)? I don’t understand the point of it. We call doping cheating, but this is not accurate. “Cheating” is getting an unfair advantage over the competition. If the competition are all doping too, then “cheating” isn’t really the right descriptor is it? I think of it more as leveling the playing field.
Should we be mad that doping was so widespread? Maybe. We shouldn’t be mad at the riders though. We love them because they are top athletes and they push the limits of human ability. They do what they have to do to ride at the highest levels possible. This is why we worship them. We demand they compete at superhuman levels and we demand they win – and they do it, which is remarkable. If we are to bitch and complain let it be at the governing body who allowed this practice to occur in the first place. Instead of complaining that some riders won’t give us all the doping gossip we love to consume (I read it too, I’m not accusing) we should focus on putting pressure and shame on the group who allowed pro cycling to get so out of control in the first place. There is, after all, a group who is supposed to prevent this kind of thing from happening…
As for me, I say happy retirement and well done Jens.
Well done Brett, we are fans, we are cyclists but we know the world we live in. It’s not an error to hope and acting trying to improve it a little bit.
Good one, Bretto. Dopers may take away some of the luster and integrity of the sport of cycling but they can’t take away an ounce of the joy and pain I feel when I’m riding my bike.
@Jason
It’s the naive expectation of clean-ness and ‘fairness’ in a sport riven with commercialisation and impossible expectations that cause this disappointed confusion when a popular rider is implicated.
‘Revelations’ of doping should never be a suprise when we approach the physical limits of what the human body can do.
@freddy
I see what you did there… Touche…
Well said. The hardmen of do seem to get a pass on this discussion… Mostly.
Perfect. I’ve always felt that to mention him in a doping conversation would bring cold stares…
Jens’s great gift was his affability and his capacity for maintaining a crazy optimism that made him seem more of a weekend warrior (just like us!) than a jaded veteran. His career was one infused with even doses of panache and loyalty.
Backwater?
“CYCLING BACKWATER OF THE USA”??
C’mon…If we’re reading Velominati, we can’t be too much of a “Backwater”!
and yes…we love Jens in the “backwater” also!
I don’t care that Jens doped. The way he vehemently denies ever even seeing or hearing over his career just insults us, his fans. That is the point I’m making. Especially when all oh his contemporaries eventually admit that “everyone was doing it”, it was “the culture”… so how does Jens expect us to believe he was the exception and not only didn’t do it, but didn’t even know about it? And to so vigourously defend Armstrong really doesn’t help his credibility.
@ElPasoRoadie
Satire, my friend. By comparison to Europe though, everywhere else is a cycling backwater, is it not?
@Steampunk
This.
@Packfiller
And this. Exactly the point I’m making. It’s not so much the doping, but the blatant roll-out of clichéd rhetoric from these guys. “It’s in the past.” “Move on.” etc… How about “face up to the reality and do something about it, rather than continually deny and lie.” That makes a real hero in my eyes.
@ElPasoRoadie Nice riding by TJVG up that backwater pass, 3300m and to hold off Majka in the final, very impressive.
@brett
Julian Dean, anyone?
@piwakawaka
Does he toe the same line? I’m not au fait with his stance or opinions, but would love to hear more…
@piwakawaka
PS we really need to catch up for a ride…
Ok, as no one has jumped in, in a bad German accent:
“Shut up Brett”
@Rom
Nice. I was going to call the article “Shut up Jens”, but maybe “Speak up Jens” is more appropriate…
The way the omerta was enforced by Quick-Step Omega Pharma with egg timer would make any rider currently under contract a little worried about speaking up. And jensie has what, twelve children to raise?
I am a Jens fan and have been for a long time. He is a man who likes to punish his bike. And he is a good interview and not afraid of the using the f word. I’ll miss him. But I agree with Brett that he could, without implicating himself, still shed some light on cycling dark past. He is old enough to know something about it.
Without a lot to add to the conversation, chalk me up as another who found him entertaining, but almost in a childishly amusing way. Wouldn’t dispute his place in the “old times”, but still managed to find him mildly funny and generally harmless.
Fair point that being honest and forthright may have been one way to improve his hard man status, though I don’t know that he really needs any improvement there.
@brett
Now that Jens is retired, maybe he’s got a book in the works and will tell us what he knows.
@brett
Yeah , saw nothing , heard nothing , took nothing…
@brett
Yep , been few and far between this winter , but I now have Beer on tap ! So ride we should , I’ll be riding Sunday 9-12 , 90-100k ?
@piwakawaka
Cool! This your place?
Not sure how I feel about this one.
While the pervasive presence of doping is clear; I have to admit, I’ve never made the jump to assume that literally all of the peloton was doping. So given I’ve never made that leap, I need something more to be convinced Jens doped. Being surrounded by dopers, a doper does not make. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t be surprised, but I just don’t share the certainty others clearly feel. I also agree that the circumstances reasonably raise questions. So asking one of them – which performances are Jens’ questionable ones? I’m not seeing him inexplicably winning stages then backing up. I’m not seeing palmeres littered with victories beyond his clear talent. He won a occasionally but generally paid the price. Or am I being selective in my recollections?
All that aside – what of his responsibility tell all? I do relate to that sense that there could be some value in him coming clean about all that he must have seen. There is also a level of complicity in withholding and lying about what you know – and I’m more convinced he must have seen more than he admits to than I am that he took more than he admits to.
@dyalander
I tend to agree with you here. We don’t condemn every rider that was even remotely a part of that era do we? If we’re going to assume that everyone was doping, then we don’t get to pick and choose which one’s are going to be OK with us.
Just because I live in Milwaukee, it doesn’t mean that I drink beer and eat brats every day. (Well, not every day.)
I think there is a better than good chance that he did see more than he lets on, but I don’t think that he has an obligation to do a tell-all of any sort. What purpose would that serve? We all know what happened during that era. Rehashing it over and over again will NOT help move the sport forward. I’m not saying that we need to ignore it, certainly not. It happened in cycling, baseball, track and field. Pick a sport. But we have to find a way to move past it in a constructive way, and it’s not just the responsibility of the UCI or USA Cycling, it’s up to all of us.
For me, I’m a fan of Jens. He’s funny, outgoing, and entertaining. Something that I think the sport is lacking sometimes. Plus, he gives everything he has every time he gets on the bike. I don’t think any of us can fault him for that.
@sthilzy This place! http://www.salvationcoffee.co.nz
The Jensie never doped.
The East Germans gave him one shot of something in the 1988. He was young, he had no say in the matter.
Whatever it was, that shit’s still working.
The Jensie never doped.
Nice one, Bretto! And thanks for this. I was just mulling over his career last week. “How can everyone be so thrilled over this. Isn’t there at least a hint of suspicion?” Lots of good stuff here to think about. It just all seems a bit to cheery for me, especially after how badly folks have felt burned by former heroes they absolutely refused to even consider might not be telling the truth.
Cycling backwater. That is awesome.
wilburrox – I don’t even like or follow baseball, but Cal Ripken has always rubbed me the wrong way. Not sure I even know why, just seems like a selfish cunt. So yeah, consider that streak and his era, now maybe I have a reason.
@Rom
+1
Well, dope or not, you would have hoped that, over the last twenty years, once the urge to go came over him, Jensie would have learned to wait a k or two.
Given his “everything seems funny to me” attitude about life, punctuated by his hilarious riff on beating Astana “and then, you know, smoke (fffftt!) all the way to Paris,” it seems clear that our boy Jens doped. A lot. But it was the Mexican dope, dude, not the stuff in Spanish Meat. Back when I was trying to climb from Cat IV to Cat III, living in a group house with a bunch of bike messengers, the best way to train was to wake up, roll a bone, glue up some tires (sniff) and go out for a killer ride. That’s how we got the legs to shut up.
In the Australian Football League (AFL) there is a team called Essendon currently mired in a sorry saga of doping that has so many similarities to cycling.
The AFL administration has its own McQuaid in Andrew Demetriou, a CEO who has left the sport in arguably its worst position ever in terms of drugs scandals, abysmal governance, fan disapproval, plummeting attendances, etc. yet he seemed to run it as his own fiefdom with a huge pay packet.
When the scandal broke, the AFL CEO directly contacted the club they were being investigated by the Federal Police. Warning the subject of an investiagtion and advising them of the police interest is a crime in most countries.
There is a player at the club called Dustin Fletcher who is similarly as old as Jens, still playing at an elite level where the physical demands of aerobic fitness and big body contact kill off men half his age. No one seems willing to question how or why this guy is still there, largely because he’s by all accounts a nice guy. The excuse is that he “reads the play well”. The odds of not doping while him being at a club under investigation for systematic and frankenstein-like medical programmes are not worth considering.
There are Doctor Fuentes and other assorted quacks running around, with nicknames like Dr Ageless.
There is an Omerta, with an ex senior Essendon player now well-paid commentator who came out early on claiming he and his team mates were merely given vitamins. Like LA, this man bullied a player who spoke out, with that player now run out of the sport (Kyle Reimers is their own version of Christophe Bassons).
A subservient media panders along, bullied by the perpetrators and golden haired hero. A major journo from New Limited has been outed as the mouthpiece of the dopers, in return for exclusives he has been casting doubt on WADA, the process and anyone else but the dopers themselves. A woman journalist who stood up to question this scandal has been called everything under the sun by the dopers and their lackeys (ala Betsy Andreu).
The main perpetrator is now back in charge, having been suspended for a year only to be sent by the club to do a MBA course in France at Fontainbleu.
Great post by the way.
@freddy
Not if that book is anything like Robbie McEwen’s.
When he didn’t win it was everyone else’s fault. When he did win it was due to his awesome natural ability.
Not one word about how he won green jerseys while everyone around him doped. Not even much of a mention about how the spot came up on Radioshack riding with Lance.
It’s a miracle!
Thanks, Super Sam. As someone who doesn’t follow Aussie Rules, but keeps an eye on sports wide and broad, that is very interesting to know. I hate how cycling gets dragged through the mud as the dirtiest sport.
I also love ice hockey and I know if they started looking…a lot of those dudes would be very, very dirty. The game has gotten too fast and crazy for those guys to be just playing on ping pong training and Labatts.
@Superman Sam you forgot to mention the club & league taking legal action against ASADA claiming their investigation was illegal…sound familiar?
@wilburrox
Exactly my thoughts as well.
@freddy
Isn’t this a given these days…. the book part…?