Australia’s Jens Voigt

Were Jens Voigt a footballer (perish the thought), it’s likely that his supporters would chant to the effect that there are none like him. At the risk of upsetting the German’s legion of fans, it seems that while there might only be “one Jens Voigt”, there is another who runs the Jensie close in his passion for the breakaway: Australia’s Will Clarke.

The Australian was at it again today, not allowing minor considerations like an entirely flat, high-speed circuit suited entirely to sprinters to dampen his hopes of a solo victory. Clarke went early, in the company of Katusha’s Maxim Belkov, Europcar’s Angelo Tulik, and Julien Berard (Ag2r-La Mondiale). When four became three after Tulik crashed, Clarke pushed on, unperturbed. When Clarke suffered his own misfortune in the form of a puncture, he pushed on, unperturbed. Images of his own victorious, day-long effort on stage two of the 2012 race must have been in the forefront of his mind.

Clarke’s inevitable capture in Adelaide is likely to do little to dent his enthusiasm for the escape, much as Voigt’s numerous heroic failures have failed to curb his enthusiasm. “One Will Clarke!” the fans gathered in Adelaide might have chanted.