John Degenkolb from Oberursel has been a professional cyclist since 2011. His greatest successes were the victories at the cycling monuments Paris-Roubaix and Milan-Sanremo in 2015 and winning a stage of the tour in 2018. The 34-year-old family man is contesting his ninth Tour of France this summer.
I’ve been here in the Basque Country since Wednesday. For me it’s a Mecca for cycling because the fans are some of the craziest. There will be a big spectacle on the first three stages, which I’m really looking forward to. But to be honest: I also have a lot of respect for these first days and the next three weeks in general – it will be an extremely difficult Tour de France. Because this is my ninth time, I know exactly what this race will demand of us drivers and how painful that can be. I definitely have this knowledge ahead of some of my young teammates.
Over the past few days, our team quarters have been in Vittoria-Gasteiz, outside of Bilbao, which is hosting the Grand Depart. A lot of memories came up for me right away. In my first year as a pro, 2011, we had a mountain finish there at the Vuelta a España – twelve years ago. Crazy how time flies.
With the team presentation on Thursday evening, you can really get a feel for the tour. Despite the rainy weather, the event in the famous Guggenheim Museum had a very special charm and character.
Infographic The 21 stages of the 110th Tour de France
I’m going into the race for my DSM-Firmenich team as a so-called Road Captain. This means that I communicate a lot with my teammates and the sport directors in the car during the race. That I try to keep an overview so that I can use my boys properly in every racing situation. With Romain Bardet, we have a strong classification driver in the team, who will be a particular focus of attention for his French compatriots and who we want to protect well. Especially on the first three days in the Basque Country.
Right at the opening stage on this Saturday (12.55 in the FAZ live ticker for the Tour de France, on ARD and on Eurosport) there is no flat meter, but things get straight to the point. I hope that the many meters in altitude ensure a natural selection in the field so that the enormous nervousness does not lead to as many falls as in previous years. But maybe that’s just wishful thinking. At the beginning, the chances of dusting off the yellow, green or polka dot jersey are literally on the street.
Published/Updated: Michael Eder, Bilbao Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 4 Michael Eder, Bilbao Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 10 Michael Eder, Bilbao Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 2 Published/Updated:
On the tour, great stories are written and great victories celebrated – this increases the willingness to take risks among many racers. Especially since all 176 professionals who are at the start here are 100 percent prepared and motivated to get going hard. Everyone fought for their place and is in the top eight of their team. The following applies to everyone in these spectacular first stages in the Basque Country: on your marks, get set, go! Nobody just rolls along here at the beginning. That’s the big difference between the Tour and all other races.
