Jens Voigt believes modern cycling is in a “golden age,” driven by exceptional talents such as Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel and Mathieu van der Poel, and underpinned by an anti-doping system he says is keeping pace with potential cheats.
Speaking on The Domestique Hotseat podcast, the former Tour de France stage winner described cycling’s greatest stars as rare outliers — athletes whose abilities go beyond training, technology or tactics.
“Just every now and then, you have Pogačar being born, or you have Albert Einstein, or Beethoven,” Voigt said. “Normal people like you and me, we go, how is that possible? How can you be so smart, so strong or so fast?”
Voigt, now 54, used a vivid metaphor to explain how such extraordinary figures emerge across sport, science and culture.
“I’m not religious, but that’s how I explain it,” he said. “Every now and then, God is sitting there with these little human figures on a production line. And every one million of them, he takes one and gives it a kiss. Blessed by the gods.”
He grouped modern cycling stars with historical greats from far beyond the peloton. “That’s how Peter Sagan, Pogačar, Einstein or Beethoven, Mozart… or people like Nelson Mandela are born. Outstanding people.”
The former German professional — best known for his aggressive racing style and his famous “Shut up, legs” mantra — connected that idea of innate brilliance to the quality of racing across today’s calendar. According to Voigt, cycling fans are witnessing a uniquely rich era.
“We do live in a golden age of cycling,” he said, pointing to frequent high-level duels between Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel on the road and in cyclocross, alongside the Grand Tour rivalry between Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel. “We’ve got a really good period of cycling — spectacular cycling.”
Voigt also addressed the ongoing credibility and anti-doping debate, arguing that the sport’s testing systems have evolved to match modern threats.
“The hunters, the chasers, the doping control system is level or ahead of potential cheating,” he said. “I think they’ve discovered all methods, all ways to cheat now, and they have tests for it. So I really believe cycling is as good as it ever will be or can be.”
His comments come as the men’s peloton continues to be defined by young, versatile champions capable of dominating across disciplines, inevitably prompting comparisons with cycling’s more troubled past. While measures such as the UCI biological passport and targeted testing have significantly strengthened anti-doping controls over the past 15 years, Voigt acknowledged that scepticism will always remain part of the sport.
“I don’t think the talk will ever stop completely,” he said. “And that’s a good thing. It keeps the pressure on to stay clean and to keep performing.”
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