Defending the riders' rights

German Jens Voigt (Team CSC) likes it on the attack - be it in races or within his new job as rider representative in the UCI ProTour council. As he told Cyclingnews' Hedwig Kröner in between a training ride and taking care of his son's tenth birthday back home in Berlin, the father of four is happy about this new direct line from the peloton to the decision takers of top-level European cycling.

On top of that, Voigt was satisfied with his 2005 season, which brought him the yellow jersey at the Tour de France for the second time in his career, just after an very successful spring. But above all, the conversation was fuelled by the ProTour changes, and Voigt had many interesting things to say on the cycling's most recent structural reform.

Cyclingnews: Jens, how did your new job as the rider representative in the UCI ProTour council come about?

Jens Voigt: Within the structure that makes up professional cycling - the race organisers, the teams and the riders - the first two were always well-represented within the UCI, only the latter did not have their proper organisation and acted like a herd of sheep. That's why we had to organise ourselves in the form of the CPA [professional cyclists' association - ed.], to make our voice heard. Because in the end, it's us who end up on the tarmac if the roads aren't in good conditions!

For the full interview click here.