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Jens! Voigt Updates: Open Thread

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Most of the news of Jens! Voigt's condition sounds serious but recoverable -- he lost consciousness but was talking later; he didn't remember the crash, but he's awake; he's undergoing lots of scans to make sure. That said, our man Jens! suffered quite a knock today, and until we know for sure he is OK, a great many fans remain concerned. So here is an open thread for posting updates as they come in.

Presumably (but not certainly) L'Equipe should have up-to-date info. Here's their latest from talking to Saxo Bank DS Bjarne Riis:

The manager of Team Saxo Bank, Denmark's Bjarne Riis, did not hide his concern Tuesday evening, after the fall of his rider Jens Voigt in the descent of the Petit Saint-Bernard. "I've seen that after the accident and he looked very poorly," said 1996 Tour winner. It is too early to assess the severity of his injuries. I have not seen the fall, I did and saw after that was not good.

Also, as team websites go, the Saxo Bank site is pretty good with updates, so check there too. Otherwise, read the comments here, as many of our readers in Europe are getting info faster than appears in the English media and posting here. Thanks!

Update -- From Lance's twitters:

Just heard from Frank Schleck that Jens is doing ok. Good news.

Hope he's got it right.

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Get well Jens!

This is one of those times I wish I could be religious. Prayer is a much more comforting placebo than well wishes. C’mon big fella, we’re all pulling for you!

Brooklyn Chewing Gum: Vlaanderens Mooiste

by Koppenberg on Jul 21, 2009 2:48 PM EDT reply actions  

+1

My thoughts and positive vibes are flowing your way, Jens!. Get well soon.

by Spot of Bother on Jul 21, 2009 3:05 PM EDT up reply actions  

Google mangled that statement of Riis's a bit...

From the same article:

The manager of team Saxo Bank, Dane Bjarne Riis, did not hide his disquiet Tuesday night, after the crash of his rider Jens Voight on the descent from the Petit Saint-Bernard. “I only saw him after the accident and it looked very bad,” explained the winner of the 1996 Tour. “It is very difficult to evaluate the severity of his injuries. I did not see the crash, I only saw him after and it was not good”

This is roughly the same as what VN and CN have published from Riis about the accident.

Additionally, the article goes on to quote the Chief Doctor of the Tour updating Jens!’s condition:

Contrary to initial indications, Voigt lost consciousness following his crash and was rapidly taken to the Grenoble hospital. “He had a loss of consciousness of three or four minutes,” the Chief Doctor of the Tour, Dr. Gérard Porte, told AFP. “He was afffected primarily on the face and, upon his arrival at Grenoble, he must undergo a complete scan.”

Both of these are my translations, anyone feel free to improve on them if necessary.

by Ed K on Jul 21, 2009 3:01 PM EDT reply actions  

Riis isn't saying anything too alarming

IMHO. You can picture him being more matter-of-fact here. But, well, who knows.

Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!

by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 21, 2009 3:08 PM EDT up reply actions  

I agree.

L’Equipe made clear that he was frankly concerned and that Jens, as expected, looked bad. But he was careful to say they didn’t know the extent of the injuries and wouldn’t until he’d been looked after medically.

by Ed K on Jul 21, 2009 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions  

Adding...

…CN made mention of Bjarne being ‘visibly shaken’ at that news conference, but subsequent reports make it appear as if most of the things we fear most after an accident like that don’t appear to be happening in Jens!‘s case. That said, a concussion is no joke and some concern is appropriate at least until he’s released from hospital.

by Ed K on Jul 21, 2009 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions  

and even past then

"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind

by umwolverine on Jul 21, 2009 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions  

Indeed, these injuries evolve and can have longer term consequences.

You see how calm Vaughters is? That’s because he’s really one giant seething ball of Evil inside. With like, extra Evil.

by Ed K on Jul 21, 2009 5:00 PM EDT up reply actions  

Yep.

Just got of the phone w/a friend who’s a trainer—he judged Jens! to have at least a stage 4 concussion—which involves at least 3 to 4 days of monitoring his condition.

According to Trevor, Voigt’s condition on the road appeared to almost be a stage 6 or “you’re almost certainly a goner”—so that he regained consciousness and was talking were really good signs.

Still, this was a really serious injury.

by R Mc on Jul 21, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions  

Of course...

…judging those things from TV images is tough to say the least.

You see how calm Vaughters is? That’s because he’s really one giant seething ball of Evil inside. With like, extra Evil.

by Ed K on Jul 21, 2009 10:30 PM EDT up reply actions  

That's what Riis said in TV interview

Apparently BS Christiansen has gone with Jens! to Grenoble.

by Jens on Jul 21, 2009 3:13 PM EDT up reply actions  

Hope he's ok!

Looking at the slow-mos, looks like he removed his left hand to go into the drops right when he hit the dip/bump in the road. Wouldn’t wish that upon anyone.

by eltonlin on Jul 21, 2009 3:09 PM EDT reply actions  

LA Twitter
lancearmstrongJust heard from Frank Schleck that Jens is doing ok. Good news.

by robinhowlett on Jul 21, 2009 3:20 PM EDT reply actions  

speedy recovery, Jens!!
he lost consciousness but was talking later

For Jens!, talking again is akin to breathing, but, hey, I’ll take it.

Poor guy. What a drag!

by gregm on Jul 21, 2009 3:27 PM EDT reply actions  

Kim Andersen on TV now

He seems to have escaped with concussion. Will stay in hospital overnight, beyond that they don’t know. He has sent greetings to the team.

by Jens on Jul 21, 2009 3:41 PM EDT reply actions  

Best ever

Thanks for the best quote ever about the strength of Jens Voigt, and I quote: “Personally, I believe that upon his recovery, he will come back to the spot of his crash, pull up the pavement with his bare fingers, and eat it.” Great stuff.

by GoGold on Jul 21, 2009 3:59 PM EDT reply actions  

Crashdan

in the stage 17 preview.

Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!

by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 21, 2009 4:32 PM EDT up reply actions  

I'm still in shock..

Get well soon Jens!…

"the rest was over 30. And that doesn't mean old and useless, but experienced and with the stamina"

Jens! Voigt, Crit Intl Interview, 2009

by CycleGirl on Jul 21, 2009 4:10 PM EDT reply actions  

Good summary article from Bicycling

here, not really anything new in there but summarizes well including the potential injuries.

by guidemd on Jul 21, 2009 4:15 PM EDT reply actions  

who knew jens! had his own clothing line...

"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind

by umwolverine on Jul 21, 2009 5:12 PM EDT up reply actions  

Update on Saxo Bank team site

Jens Voigt okay under circumstances

An examination at the University hospital in Grenoble this evening has initially given positive reports on Jens Voigt’s health after the nasty crash during today’s stage of Tour de France. He has incurred a fracture of the right cheekbone and for now he is staying at the hospital for further observation.

Jens has sent this greeting to the team:
“I think I was very lucky not getting severely hurt from today’s crash. Now I hope that you can focus on the race and I wish you all good luck with the hard stage tomorrow".

The whole team in France and the whole staff at Riis-Cycling wish Jens Voigt a speedy recovery and hope to see him and his strong and joyful spirit back on the team soon.

Excellent news and a huge relief. Plus surely yet another sign of just what a tough guy he is that this is ‘all’ that he’s got injury wise

by Gemma on Jul 21, 2009 4:21 PM EDT reply actions  

My question

at what point in the exam did Jens ask if there was still time to finish the stage? Am guessing it came up shortly after he came to, though if they were smart they’d have strapped him to the gurney by then.

Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!

by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 21, 2009 4:34 PM EDT up reply actions  

He'd use the gurney to race if he could...

… I’m up in the air as to whether I’d want to be the guy in the next hospital bed over. I’m betting Jens! is a lousy patient.

Doctor: “Ahh, Mr. Voigt, tell me, where does it hurt?”
Jens!: “No where.”
Doctor: “Mr. Voigt, come now, your face has been abraded to the bone and you have chunks of embedded asphalt in your scalp.”
Jens!: “Ja? So?”
Doctor: “Well, do you feel discomfort when I do this?”
Jens!: only laughs
Doctor: “Mr. Voigt, I have my hand physically touching your spleen.”
Jens!: “If you don’t let me on my bike I’ll have my hand physically touching your spleen, Herr Doktor.”
Doctor: “Mr. Voigt, there’s no reason to be testy, you’ve suffered a major collision.”
Jens!: “The pavement better consider itself lucky it knocked me out. By the way, can you send in someone with the phone number for the contractor crew that was working on that stretch of paving? My friend, Stuey, wants to pay them a visit and show them a wristband he came up with.”

Respect the Shit List; it respects you.

by crashdan on Jul 21, 2009 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions  

ROFL!

You see how calm Vaughters is? That’s because he’s really one giant seething ball of Evil inside. With like, extra Evil.

by Ed K on Jul 21, 2009 5:02 PM EDT up reply actions  

If you were the patient in the next bed over...

…I’d hope that you weren’t looking to get a lot of sleep, and that it didn’t hurt to laugh!

by gregm on Jul 21, 2009 5:22 PM EDT up reply actions  

LOL!

On the other hand, you’d also try to extend your stay as long as Jens’, at all costs.

Your power is turning our darkness to dawn,
Roll on Columbia, Roll on!

by Chris Fontecchio on Jul 21, 2009 6:20 PM EDT up reply actions  

Oh, man. Those doctors better watch him carefully, that's all I can say.

Any head injury is scary.

I’m just so glad his other parts are OK. Those pictures posted in the other thread scared me silly. (Deep breath, Ruthann.)

by Ruthann on Jul 21, 2009 5:05 PM EDT reply actions  

On the basis that you never want to upset Jens

…guess we can expect fireworks from the remaining members of Saxo Bank tomorrow based on Andy Schleck’s latest Twitter posting:

Jens is okay he is not in danger get stitches an broken cheekbone but he told us to kick a… Next days with a smile

by Gemma on Jul 21, 2009 5:06 PM EDT reply actions  

awww!

I have the WWJD (What Would Jens Do?) bumper sticker on our car. Recently a perfect stranger came up to me and asked me if he could photograph it since he knew of Jens and thought it was so funny. Oh Jens, you TRULY are the hard man of the peleton. I am so relieved to know he is speaking and relatively okay after his crash. The way he hit the ground, it could have been a lot worse but there is a lot of love out there for old Jens in the universe.

by tricycle on Jul 22, 2009 1:13 AM EDT up reply actions  

A few to get started:

- When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Jens.

- Jens doesn’t read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.

- There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Jens has allowed to live.

- Outer space exists because it’s afraid to be on the same planet with Jens.

- Jens does not sleep. He waits.

- Jens is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.

- Jens is the reason why Waldo is hiding.

- Jens counted to infinity – twice.

- When Jens does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.

- Jens is so fast, he can ride around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.

- Jens’ hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush.

- Jens can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.

- Jens doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.

- Jens can slam a revolving door.

- Jens does not get frostbite. Jens bites frost.

- When Jens calls 1-900 numbers, he doesnt get charged. He holds up the phone and money falls out.

- Jens once ate a whole cake before his friends could tell him there was a stripper in it.
 
- There are no races, only countries of people Jens has beaten to different shades of black and blue.
 
- When Jens falls in water, Jens doesn’t get wet. Water gets Jens.
 
- Scientists have estimated that the energy given off during the Big Bang is roughly equal to 1JVBa (Jens Voight Break-away)
 
- Jens’ house has no doors, only walls that he walks through.
 
- Jens doesn’t actually write books, the words assemble themselves out of fear.
 
- Jens CAN believe it’s not butter.
 
- If tapped, a Jens breakaway could power the EU for 44 minutes.
 
- Jens can divide by zero.
 
- The grass is always greener on the other side, unless Jens has been there. In that case the grass is most likely soaked in blood and tears.
 
- A picture is worth a thousand words. A Jens is worth 1 billion words.
 
- Newton’s Third Law is wrong: Although it states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, there is no force equal in reaction to a Jens Voigt Break-away.
 
- While urinating, Jens is easily capable of welding titanium.
 
- Jens once sued the Houghton-Mifflin textbook company when it became apparent that their account of the war of 1812 was plagiarized from his autobiography.
 
- When Jens talks, everybody listens. And dies.
 
- Contrary to popular belief, there is indeed enough Jens to go around.
 
- Jens doesnt shave; he kicks himself in the face. The only thing that can cut Jens is Jens.
 
- For some, the left testicle is larger than the right one. For Jens, each testicle is larger than the other one.
 
- Jens always knows the EXACT location of Carmen SanDiego.
 
- When taking the SAT, write “Jens” for every answer. You will score over 8000.
 
- Jens invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Cruise invented pink.
 
- When you’re Jens, anything + anything is equal to 1. One Jens Voigt Break-away.
 
- Jens has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoloy card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game UNO.
  
- Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee. Except Jens.
 
- Jens doesn’t throw up if he drinks too much. Jens throws down!
 
- In the beginning there was Nothing…then Jens dropped that Nothing on a break-away and said “Get a job”. That is the story of the universe.
 
- Jens has 12 moons. One of those moons is the Earth.
 
- Jens grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage.
 
- Archeologists unearthed an old english dictionary dating back to the year 1236. It defined “victim” as “one who has encountered Jens”
 
- Jens ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.
 
- Jens and Mr. T walked into a bar. The bar was instantly destroyed, as that level of awesome cannot be contained in one building.
 
- If you Google search “Jens getting his ass kicked” you will generate zero results. It just doesn’t happen.

- Jens can drink an entire gallon of milk in thirty-seven seconds.
  
- Jens doesn’t bowl strikes, he just knocks down one pin and the other nine faint.
 
- The show Survivor had the original premise of putting people on an island with Jens. There were no survivors, and nobody is brave enough to go to the island to retrieve the footage.
 
- It takes Jens 20 minutes to watch 60 Minutes.
 
- Jens has a deep and abiding respect for human life… unless it gets in his way.
 
- When Jens is in a crowded area, he doesn’t walk around people. He walks through them.
 
- Jens once ate an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made him blink.
 
- James Cameron wanted Jens to play the Terminator. However, upon reflection, he realized that would have turned his movie into a documentary, so he went with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
 
- Jens can touch MC Hammer.
 
- Thousands of years ago Jens came across a bear. It was so terrified that it fled north into the arctic. It was also so terrified that all of its descendents now have white hair.
 
- Jens played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.

by elmundo_enfuego on Jul 21, 2009 6:39 PM EDT up reply actions  

these are brilliant

chapeau my friend.

"at the end of the day, it's only the tour de france."- bradley wiggins (and majope)

by Ben Shave on Jul 21, 2009 7:19 PM EDT up reply actions  

jens! is

such a brilliant advert for this sport. i know i speak for everyone at the cafe when i say that i cannot wait to see him back and tearing up whatever bit of road he happens to be on.

"at the end of the day, it's only the tour de france."- bradley wiggins (and majope)

by Ben Shave on Jul 21, 2009 7:19 PM EDT reply actions  

If anyone has the courage and guts to get over a nasty injury it's Jens!

but really, seeing Jens! Schleck was just wrong.

Vamos Alberto!!!(Contador not Ricco)

by Phil H. on Jul 21, 2009 10:00 PM EDT reply actions  

Best wishes Jens

God that looked like it hurt!

Here’s wishing you a speedy recovery. Thanks for all the fine riding and wonderful sportsmanship. May the force be with you!!

by RoadRash911 on Jul 22, 2009 1:03 AM EDT reply actions  

Jens jens the skater we thought you were down, your neck seemed sotwisted

A head injury can be disorienting. Let it scramble you. Follow the new signposts that you find. Grow a new mind for new thoughts. You will be handsome once again in far more interesting ways. Love from everywhere, all the spirits who reached out and held you as you fell. We were there. We love you. We’ve been here with you year after year. And we’ll keep track, whatever happens. Grow well, whatever that means. Don’t be afraid to name what it means. Maybe it means a Contador-style comeback. Maybe it means a come-in to something else. Or a come-on :) So rock on.

by ClaudiaP on Jul 22, 2009 3:45 AM EDT reply actions  

Not the same without Jens...

My wife and I sent a card to CHU Trauma Grenoble last night. Anywhere to send flowers? When he’s feeling stronger, he can crush them into diamonds.

by slowisthenewfast on Jul 22, 2009 10:46 AM EDT reply actions  

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