Uh, spoilers ahead. So everyone knows Jens Voigt is a badass. No one is arguing that. Colorado was lucky enough to host his last professional road race, The 2014 USA Pro Challenge where he took 28th. He was also voted most combative on stages 4 and 7.
Suffering indeed!
He's been at the top of the riding game for the last 20 years, with wins sprinkled throughout his career. Be it the Tour de France, Tour of California, the aforementioned Pro Challenge, he is a staple at big road races. What's left for a guy with this kind of career? Enter the hour record.
The hour record is a track event in which a rider sees how far they can ride in one hour. Sounds simple right? Wrong! The hour is one of the most prestigious events in cycling and the past record holders are guys Eddy Merckx. On Sept 18, Jens gave it an effort at a velodrome in Grenchen, Switzerland. The event was broadcast on YouTube as well.
Here's the details of his ride:
- Jens was riding a specially built Trek bike with newly allowed aero bars.
- He was running a manly 55x14 gear ratio
- He rode 51.115 kilometers, or 31.76 miles
- Since it was an hour, it's an easy conversion, he was averaging 31 miles an hour
- He completed 205 laps
The bike
He beat the previous record of 49.700. It was super exciting to see him go out on such a high note. The velodrome was going nuts, the fans are going nuts, what a way to bring a career to a close!
GO JENS!
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