Jens Voigt on East Germany, Parenting 6 Kids, Crashing at 70 km/h and Life after 17 Tours de France

Jens Voigt on growing up in East Germany, parenting, crashing, and the parts of his life in cycling he’s rarely talked about in conversation with Andrew Vontz on Choose the Hard Way.

Jens raced the Tour de France 17 times, won stages in the Tour and Giro, and set the Hour Record at age 43. He’s best known for animating races from the breakaway and for a long career built on trust, consistency, and showing up for teammates.

This episode explores everything you haven’t heard from Jens before.

Jens share about what it was really like growing up in the former East Germany, coming through a state-run sports academy, learning how to operate inside a professional system without being the protected rider, and how those years shaped the way he thinks about family, leadership, work, and staying fit as a father of six kids.
It’s a candid conversation about sport as a long project: what lasts, what doesn’t, and what stays with you after the racing ends.

About the show
Choose the Hard Way explores how hard things build stronger humans who have more fun. Hosted by Andrew Vontz. New episodes weekly.
Support the show by becoming a paid subscriber to the Choose the Hard Way Substack: www.alwaysthehardway.substack.com

Sponsors
With over $1 trillion in transactions to date, www.Blockchain.com is your trusted partner on your crypto journey. Go to www.Blockchain.com to get started today no experience required.

Lauf is the Apple of bike design and they make elegant products that just work better than everything else. Check them out at www.laufcycles.com.

Follow:
Andrew: @hardwaypod
Jens: @thejensie