Jens Voigt

pjlawrie

Bejesus, just watched the TDF stage from today and Mr Voigt has hit the deck hard, and I mean HARD. Hope he is ok.

graeme_s-2

Vaughters has said on Twitter that he's suffered a "cranial trauma" which doesn't tell us a lot, but fingers crossed he's ok.

davidmiller

me too, he's a star man

pjlawrie

Was a full on chin grinder whilst doing 35+ mph. Even had sparks coming off some parts of the bike - Eurosport HD picture quality was totally awesome on this unfortunate occasion.

Mettan

Hope he's ok.

Harry Hill

I hope he's gonna be ok too. He slid a long way on his hip. Must have left some skin behind for sure.

Jens is a top man - with a great sense of humour.

Hope he recovers quickly.

Le Commentateur

"cranial trauma" = concussion?

pjlawrie

I think concussion would = best case scenario.......

Kléber

Brain trauma is just the term given when you get a head injury, it can vary from something very light to more serious cases. On Voigt, apparently he wasn't unconcious but is having trouble talking coherently.

He seems to have hit a bump in the road just as he was about to stand up on the pedals and lost balance instantly.

will3

Le Commentateur wrote:

"cranial trauma" = concussion?

Just means injury to the head ie doesn't tell you much.

SpaceJunk

CN are saying:

Okay, we got word on Jens Voigt's condition - he's got injuries to his head, face and shoulders, and is being taken to hospital. However he never lost consciousness. We hope he has a speedy recovery.

Eurostar

That was a weird crash. I don't think a bump/braking combo could have done that. Something must have broken...forks, stem, bars...?

pjlawrie

Looking at the footage it is either a broken steerer tube or his hands lost grip of the bars. He went down just as he landed a bunny hop to clear a hole/ bump which to me suggests either of the above. I could be worng though.

frenchfighter

His back wheel lifted 3inches off the ground then his front wheel slid on the white line. Rtbf showed a slow-mo. Lucky he was at the back.

It looked like he must have scrapped a lot skin from his face.

I feel very sorry for him and hope the damages aren't serious.

I find it incredible though that there wasn't any info from race radio or a tv bike to show the aftermath. I'm sure many people were agitated to know if he was ok. Showing parts of the race other than the front would be particularly interesting.

k-dog

Always one of my favorite riders so I hope he's okay.

Lucky it wasn't one of the days they banned helmets...

afx237vi

frenchfighter wrote:

His back wheel lifted 3inches off the ground then his front wheel slid on the white line. Rtbf showed a slow-mo. Lucky he was at the back.

It looked like he must have scrapped a lot skin from his face.

I feel very sorry for him and hope the damages aren't serious.

I find it incredible though that there wasn't any info from race radio or a tv bike to show the aftermath. I'm sure many people were agitated to know if he was ok. Showing parts of the race other than the front would be particularly interesting.

Watching the replay was bad enough. I didn't particularly want to see the aftermath.

oscarbudgie

Shocking crash - seemed like his face and shoulder took the full first impact. I think maybe a stone or something turned his front wheel round on him and over he went. Hope he's OK - the road rash alone must be horrendous

frenchfighter

afx, maybe saying 'aftermath' is a bit wrong. My point was that I was listening and watching intently for the whole rest of the stage to learn of his condition yet there was nothing.

blazing_saddles

Been wandering around, looking for updates.
Nothing new as yet, so keep the updates coming.
Awful crash.
I kind of lost interest in what was an exciting bit of sparing, after that.

JohnnyAllez

Knocked me sick seeing it, looked to me like he lost it over the white line while hard on the front brake

Bakunin

That is why I descend like a baby -- too scary for me.

I hope he is ok.

That was a tough day for Saxo.

afx237vi

frenchfighter wrote:

afx, maybe saying 'aftermath' is a bit wrong. My point was that I was listening and watching intently for the whole rest of the stage to learn of his condition yet there was nothing.

Fair enough, but sometimes I find it really tasteless the way the camera motos hang around and keep filming when it's obvious that a rider is seriously injured. It's voyeurism, and there are some things we don't need to see.

frenchfighter

Saxo Bank sport director Bjarne Riis told German reporters the injuries were "serious," but didn't have specific details about the injuries. Riis said that Voigt briefly lost consciousness following the brutal impact, news also confirmed by the first doctor on the scene.

According to Tour doctor Gerard Porte, Voigt was unconscious when he arrived at the scene, but he did gradually come around.

frenchfighter

Voigt apparently hit a dip on the road to knock his equilibrium off as he rode at the tail of the group of GC riders. His front wheel violently jolted and the veteran German landed hard on his face and chest as speeds topped 70kph.

An ambulance transported Voigt to a hospital in Bourg-Saint-Maurice with two police motorcycles leading the way.

Doctors report that he is able to move his arms and legs.

The first photographer on the scene reported that Voigt was bleeding from a cut to his face and motionless on the tarmac. "I was scared when I first got there," he said, "but he began to come around."

Velonews

Homer J

He's going to feel that come the morning Hope he has a speedy recovery.

Anonymous

They will be unable to use that stretch road again for a long time now it's taken a pounding from the Human Nuclear Power Station.

Apparently an ancestor of Voigt also crashed into the ground in France many thousands of years ago. The result was Ayers Rock.


All the best to him, one of my favourite ever riders.

kalengi

afx237vi wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

His back wheel lifted 3inches off the ground then his front wheel slid on the white line. Rtbf showed a slow-mo. Lucky he was at the back.

It looked like he must have scrapped a lot skin from his face.

I feel very sorry for him and hope the damages aren't serious.

I find it incredible though that there wasn't any info from race radio or a tv bike to show the aftermath. I'm sure many people were agitated to know if he was ok. Showing parts of the race other than the front would be particularly interesting.

Watching the replay was bad enough. I didn't particularly want to see the aftermath.

Agreed, but at least an update on his condition would have been nice. The worst bit is that on top of his injuries, his tour ends there.

frenchfighter

Just seen photos...I wont post them as they are not pleasant viewing. Most of the damage is on his face.

frenchfighter

Bike is in intact. Nothing broken as far as I can make out.

blazing_saddles

frenchfighter wrote:

Just seen photos...I wont post them as they are not pleasant viewing. Most of the damage is on his face.

Might I suggest that you simply post a link.
That way members can choose.
So far, all we have is:-
From cyclingnews:
Voigt in hospital after horrific crash

Riis says German seriously injured

Jens Voigt (Team Saxo Bank) was taken to hospital after his crash in the 16th stage of the Tour de France. While descending the Col du Petit-Saint-Bernard, the German's front wheel slipped away and he went down on his shoulder and head, sliding several metres along the road. The race doctor who attended to him at the scene said that Voigt briefly lost consciousness.

"He is seriously injured, but conscious. He was able to move," said a visibly shaken team manager Bjarne Riis to the German press agency dpa.

frenchfighter

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7V0VsKznyzA