Tejay Wins, but Jens REALLY Wins!

Tejay and Teammates. Boulder, Colorado, August 24, 2014

Today’s Stage 7, the last stage of the USA Pro Challenge Cycling Race, started in Boulder, went over Lookout Mountain in Golden, then finished in Denver. Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing), once a Boulder local but now living in Aspen, won the overall classification for the second year in a row. But, it was Jens Voigt (Trek Factory Racing) who, for me and a pile of other fans, really stole the show.

This would be the last time Jens would ride his bike as a professional–he was finally retiring after many years of competition…He has been riding his bike for 33 years…He will be 43 in two weeks…He’s the “old man” of the peloton…He could be the father of some of his race competitors…He is from the former East Germany…He is very gracious, likeable, and eloquent…AND, he is (now, was) one of the most aggressive bike riders in the pro peloton. He is always on the attack, always in the breakaways. Sometimes it works and he wins, sometimes it doesn’t and he’s chased down by the sprinter teams in the final meters of the race. Either way, he has always been an inspirational rider to watch for his 100% full-gas, never-say-die attitude. One of his favorite quotes: “Shut up, legs!” (Said, I presume, when the lactic acid is about to blow his muscles apart.)

Witness today: Jens made the initial break of twelve riders, was the first over Lookout Mountain, and hammered away until there was only one other with him (Javier Megias, one of the diabetic riders of Novo Nordisk) in the final circuits in Denver. Alas, it was not to be and Jens and Javier were caught with one lap to go. Jens still came away with the Most Aggressive Rider Award, as he certainly should have!

So…rewind. Mid-morning, I rode my bike the ten minutes over to the Boulder, Pearl Street, start line to watch the festivities and see what I might photograph.

One thing I have learned…I am NOT an event photographer. In cycling, I prefer to leave the action images to Graham Watson. My eye strays from the main event and it tends to wander off to other things for some reason. Such as…