Having crashed heavily in the Tour of Britain and breaking a finger on September 11th, Jens Voigt has finally returned to proper training this week, almost two months after the accident happened.
Voigt tweeted about his return earlier today, then later elaborated on the issue to VeloNation. “I have been doing lots of running and home training before now, so I was back in training already for some weeks,” the tough, charismatic German rider said by telephone. “But I only had permission from the surgeon who did surgery on my hand to go outside on the road from Monday.”
Voight had started the British race as his Leopard Trek team’s main GC hope for the race. The parcours suited him and he was due to celebrate his 40th birthday on the penultimate day, giving the aggressive rider an even bigger incentive than usual to go on the attack.
However the script went awry when he hit the deck early on in the first stage. “It was just a normal crash in a race,” he said. “We went around the corner too fast, someone slipped away and there was no way to avoid the crash. If one guy slips, he takes two or three more and we are all sitting on the road then.”
Voigt’s break was a complicated one, with the bone breaking into a number of pieces and needing surgery to correct it. It was an unwelcome and unscheduled end to his season, and he’s still getting over it. “I am back in training, but I am right back at the basic level,” he said. “There is still a long way to go.” However he’s working hard and is motivated to get back to a good level.
2011 marked the fourteenth pro season for Voigt, who was in the first year of his contract with the Leopard Trek setup. In terms of personal results it was a quiet one, with sixth on a stage of Paris-Nice and fifth and eight on the prologue/time trial stages of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge being his sole top ten finishes. His goal of clocking up more good results was frustrated by his Tour of Britain crash.
However he did a lot of important riding for the team during the season, including in the Tour de France where he helped Andy and Frank Schleck to second and third overall.
His strength, team dedication and character ensured that he was given another contract for next year and, after a title sponsor addition, will race in Radioshack-Nissan colours in 2012.
Despite being 40 years of age, Voigt confirms that he’s psyched and ready to dig in once again. “It is good that I have one more year ahead of me, I can focus on something,” he said, sounding enthusiastic at the thought. “I have got a goal. I still feel that I have another year in me, I still feel that I have something left to give.”