JENS VOIGT
Jensie recalls a random act of kindness from Mark Cavendish during the 2010 Tour
Maybe some of you folks remember the old story of me on the yellow kids’ bike during the 2010 Tour on that really hard mountain stage in the Pyrenees. I had a very bad crash, my bike was trashed, I was really beaten up, and there was no team support so I had to borrow a tiny yellow bike to ride part of the climb until the team car could bring me a spare.
If you think that’s a good story then let me tell that an even better one unfolded right after. While trying to finish within the time limit I caught up with Mark Cavendish. There are two things about Mark – he is super, super fast, and he hates the mountains. Back then he rode for HTC and he was accompanied by team-mates Mark Renshaw, Bernie Eisel and Bert Grabsch. Bernie saw me first and I’ll never forget what he said. “Holy smoke, you look like sh*t, Jens!”
Bernie told me to go ahead on the climb and that they would catch me on the descent. That’s what sprinters do in the mountains. They don’t go all out up the climbs, but ease up to pace themselves. But down the other side there’s no holding back – they go full gas on the descent to make up time on the gruppetto. Bernie said that I’d probably be unable to follow them on the descent, so the plan was for them to let me go on the climb, make up the time on the descent and join me in the valley.
The problem was that I was pretty beat up, and I only led them by about two switchbacks by the top of the climb. They caught me pretty much at the start of the descent, but this is where the beautiful story starts. They immediately slowed and waited for me after each corner, looking back to check I was okay. There’s a million-dollar rider like Mark Cavendish, who had already won a few stages that year, there are four days until Paris, where he wanted to win again, and there are three team-mates whose only reason for being there was to make sure Mark would reach the stage finish safe and sound and spending the minimum energy possible.
"Without hesitation Mark and his teammates showed solidarity and loyalty with this old and beat- up rider and they saved my day. They never asked me to pull”
They all slowed down for me, even though they knew that every second they waited meant they would have to work harder in the valley to catch the gruppetto. Imagine their team manager – he’d be telling them through the earpieces to go ahead and not risk elimination because of me – a rider from a different team. But without any hesitation, they showed solidarity and loyalty with this old and beat-up rider and they saved my day. They never asked me to pull through in the valley, they did all the work. They did it for the right reasons, simply because they thought it was the right thing to do.
Sometimes karma is great because Mark ended up winning that prestigious stage in Paris a few days later. He saved my day in the mountains and I’m in his debt for that. Since that day, I’ve always loved and respected Mark – he is a tough cookie and his heart is in the right place. To this day, it was one of the biggest displays of fairness and sportsmanship I have ever seen.
Jens Voigt retired in 2014 following an 18-year career as one of the sport's most loved and attacking riders. He held the Hour Record for 42 days. Commentators never did agree how to pronounce his name.