Bowral Classic ‘In Focus’ Series: Henk Vogels

Henk Vogels has been an Australian household name for some time now. His rise to fame and many appearances at the height of professional cycling have engraved his name in the history of Australian cycling. However, from what Vogels told us at the Bowral Classic, it wasn’t always glitz and glamour at the top.

Born in Perth, Henk Vogels’ professional cycling career started in the mid 90s after he punished his rivals on the Australian domestic circuit before proving his worth on the European front. 1995 was his first year as a professional cyclist and by 1999 he was Australian Road Race Champion and had not only competed in but conquered some of the world’s toughest races like the Paris-Roubaix and the Tour de France.

Vogels was born into the sport with his father, Henk Vogels Sr an Olympian in the 1964 Tokyo Games.

“My oldest memory of a bike would be challenging the kids on my street to a race to the end of the street and back. I had a green bike with a green banana seat on it!” Vogels recalls. “As you may well know my father was a 1964 Tokyo Olympian, he was 4th in Tokyo and rode in the team with Stuart O’Grady’s uncle Bob Baird. My father was also Australian champion in the Individual Pursuit so I was always around bikes from a young age.”

When asked what kind of preparation goes into competing in the world’s toughest cycling races, Vogels was not modest. “Training for a grand Tour takes years of preparation. Firstly to be able to turn pro, stay pro and then get selected to be in the best 9 guys in the team. Many thousands of kilometers trained, many races and absolutely 100 percent fitness, you must be at the top of your game…”

“You cannot prepare mentally, you just have to take it day by day in a tour and break it into mini blocks like the flat stages and up to the first rest day then through the first mountain stages and so on.” Said Vogels, a tip that riders of the Bowral Classic will appreciate on a smaller scale.

“Finishing the Paris Roubaix can leave you with so many emotions. For me there was a broad spectrum of emotions. My first Roubaix in 1997 was when I fell in love with the race. It’s still one of the best days I’ve ever had in a bike race ever! I finished the race and I wasn’t tired I was pumped, disappointed, happy and sad because I’d nearly pulled off an upset but I was caught with 10-14kms to go in my first attempt.

“1998 I crashed 4 times. Once I actually landed in the front seat of a race car, once end over end, and one where I completely slide out.

“After that one in 1998 I was exhausted but running top ten I was feeling as though I had made it in this crazy sport.

“1999 I had a shocker and blew up with around 40kms to go, I was exhausted, but just to finish this race was a monumental effort and it showed how good you needed to be to ride at the front in the hardest one day bike race in the world.

“I had many ups and downs in my career. I crashed many times, broke many bones, got sick a lot and learnt how to suffer like a dog every day on a bike.” Vogels said.

Reflecting on his professional career now, Vogels offered some guiding words for the Bowral Classic hopefuls.

“For the guys in the Bowral Classic, they just need to harden up and push through it, the feeling they will get when finishing will overcome thoughts of doubt and those painful moments. Remember, pain ends but regret doesn’t.”

We asked Vogels what were some of the great things about professional cycling.

“The best part of being a professional cyclist was that I was lucky enough to get paid to ride all around the world, meet so many amazing people in my life and fulfill my dreams of being a pro rider. I also immensely enjoyed the camaraderie of being in a team environment, having fun with the boys before, during and after the race was and is something that I still miss to this day.” Mentioned Vogels.

“I don’t miss the endless days in the mountains doing 7-hour stages back to back, and I certainly don’t miss suffering badly in horrible weather. I also had many crashes and the endless rehab was not a fun part of the sport.

“I only ride now to try and keep fit, I have just had a full ankle reconstruction last August and I’m trying to come back from that. I’m still haunted by the massive crash I had back in 2003 where I broke my neck and smashed my ankle into many pieces. I raced for another 5 years pro with 6 x 9cm screws in my left ankle.

“I was never the same bike rider after that crash but I managed to be the lead out man for Robbie McEwen, (where we won 6 Giro d’Italia stages) and also a big helper for Peter Van Petegem in the classics where he was on the podium of some Monuments like the Tour of Flanders and the Paris-Roubaix. I suffered a bad head injury as well and I have been suffering from depression since that day. It’s still a daily battle for me to keep on top of things. I have been through absolute hell with the amount of concussions I’ve had in my life. I have been out cold 12 times in my life but I try and stay positive.”

Also an advocate for many charities Vogels is giving a helping hand and still doing what he loves. “I now only try to do enjoyable coffee rides and my goal is to try and do as many charity rides as I can.”

Vogels retired from the professional ranks in 2008 and has since lent his insider knowledge to millions as a commentator for SBS Cycling Central and is also the manager and Directeur Sportif of the Bikebug-Cocowhip JML Racing Team, a domestic and international racing team with a focus on advocacy and rider development. Sam Welford from the team is Rio bound this year for the Teams Pursuit Championships.

When asked about the most scenic place he has ridden, Vogels tussled with the memories of the many places he visited in his career.

“The most scenic place I’ve ridden my bike, that’s a hard one as I’ve ridden all three grand tours twice and seen so many beautiful mountain passes. The only thing about that is that I was suffering so badly to stay on the wheel that I never really took in the view.

“But I will tell you of one amazing road that sticks out in my mind. I used to do a 180km loop from Boulder, Colorado in the Rocky Mountains, along the foothills up Big Thompson Canyon and into Estes Park, then ride up Trail Ridge Road, back down into Estes Park and along through the Mountains at 3000 meters above sea level. The best bit was the 20km drop back into town in the last hour. I used to call it the ‘Form Finder’.”

We had to ask how it compared to the Southern Highlands though!

“The Southern Highlands are very tough and also very beautiful. The terrain isn’t easy on any level and as a matter of fact I actually ran a selection camp for my Bikebug-CocoWhip NRS cycling team up there in November because it so tough. But the Rockys are one of the biggest mountain ranges in the world.”

“As for a final training tip before the Bowral Classic, I suggest that the riders do at least two long, hard and hilly rides before doing the Classic as it will condition them somewhat to having a big day out. Also take plenty of water and drink lots of fluids.”

 

Vogels is hoping to ride the Bowral Classic but won’t give to much away at the moment.

“I am planning on doing the Bowral Classic in October but I have a very busy life at the moment as I run the JML Racing team and I also work in sales for Bikebug, I contract for SBS as a TV presenter and I travel lots for work, so stay tuned…”

We would like to thank Henk for taking the time out of his busy schedule to chat to us here at the Bowral Classic.