Cycling classic: Degenkolb back in hell: “Excitement increases by the hour”

Cycling classics
Degenkolb back in hell: “Excitement increases by the hour”

The hell of the north seems a little more cruel these days. The rainy weather of the past few weeks has turned the old dirt roads from Napoleon’s times into muddy, slippery slopes.

The veteran cyclist could respond to the difficult conditions at the 121st edition of the Paris-Roubaix cobblestone ordeal on Sunday John Degenkolb is happy to do without. “I drove Roubaix in the rain once. It was nice to have experienced that. But I don’t need that again. So I’m not someone who prays before going to sleep that it will rain on Sunday,” said the last German Winner of 2015 from the German Press Agency.

Degenkolb is by no means a fair-weather driver. It has to be a special passion to develop a love for a race that this year again takes place over more than 50 of the 259.7 kilometers over the jerky pavés through seemingly endless, dreary beet fields. “It is the race that has shaped my career as a cyclist to a certain extent. Accordingly, the anticipation is great. The excitement is increasing every hour this week until the race,” said the classic specialist, who also completed his only Tour-de in Roubaix in 2018 -France stage victory celebrated.

Fall ends dream of second paving stone

For the twelfth time, the 35-year-old is taking part in this epic race, also known as the Hell of the North, on the Schlossplatz in Compiegne. Degenkolb always reached the finish on the concrete track in the old velodrome in Roubaix. Also in 2023, when he fought for victory again before a violent fall in the final phase in the fight with cycling world champion Mathieu van der Poel robbed him of all hopes of a second cobblestone as a winner’s trophy.

It’s a credit to Degenkolb that he chalked up the tough duel with MvP as a normal racing accident. What remains with him are the memories of how he was celebrated frantically at the finish line in seventh place. Degenkolb enjoys a special status among the French. After all, in the past the Thuringian not only financially supported the junior race of the spring classic, but also the Amis de Paris-Roubaix (Friends of Paris-Roubaix), who take care of the restoration of the cobblestone sectors.

This is one of the reasons why the Pavé sector between Hornaing and Wandignies was named after him. “Last year, driving in first position on my patch of pavement with my family along the track, those were moments that I will never forget,” remembers the veteran from Team DSM-unternehmenich. This year too, Degenkolb enjoys virtual house rule at kilometer 177.2.

Mathieu van der Poel as the big favorite

Degenkolb wants to know it again on Sunday. The form is good, but he is not one of the favorites. To win he would have to leave last year’s winner van der Poel behind. A difficult undertaking, after all, the Dutchman is in outstanding form, as he demonstrated just last weekend with his confident triumph at the Tour of Flanders. “Mathieu van der Poel hovers a bit above everyone else. He is the sole favorite. He is the only one who can beat himself,” said Degenkolb. And then there is his German rival Nils Politt, who came third in Flanders and had already finished second in Roubaix in 2019.

Can the German aces possibly fight for victory? “Things have already happened in Roubaix that no one expected,” says Degenkolb. Crashes or defects can affect the race. And there is the planned chicane in front of the dreaded forest of Arenberg, where classic car king Johan Museeuw broke his kneecap in 1998. This is intended to slow the speed of the field from 60 to 35 kilometers per hour at the request of the drivers. “The request seems completely logical to me. As a professional, I drove Paris-Roubaix twelve times and every time I got there I asked myself how I would fare. When we get here, we’ll play a little Russian roulette,” says race director Thierry Gouvenou. Welcome to the hell of the north.

dpa