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John Degenkolb trains for the Tour of Flanders

John Degenkolb is cycling through his native Taunus region on Tuesday afternoon, the wind whistles. “On the bike you can tell that winter is approaching,” he says with a smile into the hands-free system on his cell phone. But first of all, the season highlight is coming up on this Sunday for the professional cyclist from Oberursel: the Tour of Flanders, the sanctuary of races in cycling-crazy Belgium. Degenkolb will be in the spotlight there: because he is going into the race as the captain of his Belgian team Lotto-Soudal and because he is in good shape and is one of the broader favorites.

In this season, which was completely reorganized due to the corona, and in the past two years, it did not happen often that Degenkolb was one of the contenders for victory in major races. Although the classics, the difficult one-day races have always meant high season for him. But last Sunday at Gent-Wevelgem, the 31-year-old caught the eye with a strong performance and good placement. Degenkolb made it into the race finale in an action-packed exchange of blows and crossed the finish line in fifth just four seconds behind the winner and previous year’s world champion Mats Pedersen. Last year he was narrowly beaten there and finished second. “There wasn’t much missing. It wasn’t because of the legs, ”he says. Rather, he felt so good that “I was maybe a tad too active and jumped with every attack. I wanted to hold the cards in my hand. ”After all, his opponents in the final were exclusively world-class professionals.

Degenkolb found his strong ride at Gent – ​​Wevelgem to be “extremely important” as a signal for his team that he can be expected. And as confirmation for himself that he is now fit on the terrain that naturally suits him. In normal years, the Tour of Flanders is important for Degenkolb as a high mass for the classics, but it is also a stopover for the Paris – Roubaix race, which traditionally takes place a week later. “Roubaix is ​​the race that suits me best in terms of characteristics. I am deeply disappointed that it is canceled, ”said Degenkolb. The so-called “Queen of the Classics”, scheduled for October 25, with its infamous pavé sectors, fell victim to the high number of infections in France. Degenkolb would have loved to drive the 3.7-kilometer-long pavement that was named after him in racing for the first time. He, the 2015 winner, received the honor because behind the scenes he stood out as a committed sponsor of the race.

“Not one percent is left in the tank”

On the one hand, he is disappointed with the cancellation of Paris – Roubaix, says Degenkolb. On the other hand, you have to be “happy and grateful for every race you can drive. This season you always have to assume that the next race could also be the last. ”And that’s how the peloton rides. “The motto is always: on your marks, get set, go. Not one percent is left in the tank. And that will be the case again on Sunday, ”said the native of Gera, who has made his home in Rhein-Main for many years.

The 104th edition of the Tour of Flanders will probably be a full throttle event over 241 kilometers. Which Degenkolb doesn’t really play into the cards. Because in the past, the “round” was always a bit too difficult for a driver type like him to tackle the podium places. This year there are again 16 “Hellinge” to be mastered, the poisonous and steep Flemish climbs. Degenkolb achieved two top 10 results on the Tour of Flanders in his career, with another on Sunday, “my team and I would be super happy,” he says.

The father of the family still has two days of racing to polish up his record of a win of the season so far. The day’s success at the Tour of Luxembourg could only comfort the pain a little – Degenkolb had to leave the Tour de France after the first stage due to injuries from a fall. The Tour of Flanders marks the beginning of the end of an extraordinary cycling season, and the Bruges – De Panne race on Wednesday of next week marks the end for the Oberurseler. And then winter really begins for Degenkolb.

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