
Jens Voigt on East Germany, Parenting Six Kids, Crashing at 70 km/h and Life after 17 Tours de France
From Choose the Hard Way by Andrew Vontz
January 15, 2026 · 1h 9m · Season 1 · Episode 138
About this episode
Jens Voigt discusses his experiences in professional cycling, parenting, and life after racing.
Jens Voigt raced the Tour de France 17 times, wore the yellow jersey, won stages in the Tour de France and Giro d'Italia, and set the Hour Record on the track at age 43. He joins Choose the Hard Way creator Andrew Vontz how crashing at 70 km/h changes you in ways the world doesn't see and the long arc of a life in sport. — This episode explores Jens' childhood and upbringing in the former East Germany, his path through a state-run sports academy, and what it was like to build a career inside professional cycling without ever being the protected rider. — This is a conversation about parenting six kids, literally carrying teammates through hard times, aging and how he stays World Tour fast to feel good and have fun. — To support Choose the Hard Way, please become a paid subscriber of https://alwaysthehardway.substack.com/ . — The media landscape has changed. Scripted is out. Real is in. Being a great podcast guest or host and being able to operate in dynamic unscripted contexts isn't optional. It's now a mandatory skill for senior leaders and doing it well isn't easy. — That's why Andrew Vontz started https://www.onerealvoice.com/ to help industry leaders thrive on podcasts, panels…
People in this episode
Host: Andrew Vontz
Guest: Jens Voigt
Topics covered
- East Germany
- parenting
- cycling
- sports
- aging
Keywords
- Tour de France
- Hour Record
- Giro d'Italia
- crashing
- state-run sports academy
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Choose the Hard Way
Places: East Germany
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