If you started watching pro bike racing after 2010, there have been several constants of your time as a fan. John Degenkolb is one. Always a promising junior, in only his first WorldTour season he took six wins, including two stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Next season will be his 15th in the pro peloton. Just a handful of riders – mostly fellow luminaries like Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, and Bauke Mollema – have been racing for longer at the sport’s top level.
Whole teams, like BMC, have come and gone during his time as a pro. And although his exit from the peloton will necessarily come someday, he has no imminent plans to retire. An offseason is a time to look back but also forward. Across four teams on which he has lived several lives, his role has changed and that gives him a unique perspective on life in the peloton.
My first question is your typical social media clickbait question, but posed to Degenkolb it yields an answer of characteristic depth: What would you tell your younger self if you could go back in time?
“When you are young and have a bit of talent it’s important to trust the process,” he starts. “Don’t force the things too early or too quickly. Be humble and just do one step after the other. My father was important to me and one of the reasons I started cycling. He basically slowed me down because as a young rider you want to ride longer and faster. His advice when I was too excited was to go slow and then go really fast. Finding out when to go slow and when to go fast is something I always remembered.”
During his career that started in 2008 with the small German Thüringen Energie Team, named after the German state where he is from, Degenkolb was part of HTC-Highroad, Argos-Shimano (which ultimately became DSM Firmenich-PostNL), Trek-Segafredo, Lotto-Soudal and back to Iwan Spekenbrink’s DSM in 2022. In those 15 years his role on the teams changed, from a young talent getting advice and guidance to a top sprinter and classics specialist to his current role: the one younger riders turn to for guidance and mentorship.
At 35 years old, Degenkolb will be DSM’s elder statesman in 2025, two years senior to Romain Bardet, who will retire in June. Degenkolb is at the stage of his career where he takes it year by year. He likes the new position he has on the team with young riders who have a similar profile he has like Pavel Bittner, Casper van Uden and Tobias Lund Andresen.
“It’s not that I force everyone to follow my advice or take my advice,” he smiles. “But obviously when you are in the place where I am now there is the possibility to give advice. I’m more than happy to share my experience and to just bring everyone on board.
“Look at Pavel for example. [2023] was his first professional year and he didn’t have the breakthrough he probably wanted. He never gave up and he never threw away the ideas and plans the team had. He trusted the process and got the reward this year with a Vuelta stage win. It’s nice to see that. When you have a good, functional environment you can make that next step.”
In his long career that started at WorldTour level back in 2011 Degenkolb has seen a lot of changes, but he is philosophical about it.
“Life is changing and so is cycling,” he says. “It’s also a process. When you get older your life gets different and that’s totally normal. You just must adapt in the best possible way to new situations. When people talk about the past, they often say things were much better and easier. The older guys did the same when I was young, and I am sure in fifteen years the young riders will say the same.”
Degenkolb has had many victories in his career, but a few stand out: Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo, Gent-Wevelgem ,and the 2018 Tour de France stage over the Roubaix cobbles. He is also a member of the club of riders who won stages in all three Grand Tours.
“I think considering all the years I did Paris-Roubaix [Degenkolb started and finished 12 editions, remarkably with no DNFs] and had the possibility to perform there, that win in 2015 is what I am most proud of. I am the first German since 1896 [when Josef Fischer technically won for the Kingdom of Bavaria] who has that trophy. That was definitely my biggest achievement and it’s what I am really proud of. The most emotional was the Tour de France stage win. A close friend of mine died the winter before and I felt really connected to him in that moment.”
Fifteen years of being a pro cyclist is a long time, but Degenkolb looks at every new season with a fresh perspective. He understands he is being asked if 2025 will be his last year. He takes it one year at a time and tries to find new goals again.
“When you come to a point where you think, OK, there’s nothing more to win then it’s probably better to retire and find something else to do. I think it’s not so easy to point out new goals for me personally because also my role has changed. I went from the confidence and pressure to win myself to a different role now. When I had the support of Roy [Curvers] and Koen [de Kort] they made me a better rider. They supported me to win races, and I want to pay that forward now [for the new generation]. Going from one role to the other in my career is an interesting project,” he reflects.
The last of Degenkolb’s 48 professional wins was in September 2020 at the Tour of Luxembourg. It shows how his role on the team changed but that was not an easy change for a rider winning often.
“It can be very difficult for someone, but it’s also like a process for me. I don’t say that it was super easy because once you have that mentality, that killer instinct, you definitely have to make that switch. In the end you ride more with the head and less with the heart, but I feel I made that switch well in the last years. I really enjoyed it so much and I’m really looking forward to next year. I still have a contract for next year and I’m more than happy to to go all in for the team. Obviously when I get the chance for myself and there is the opportunity I still love to raise my hands and feel that adrenaline. In both roles I still have nervousness going to the finals because this job is still my biggest passion.”
I remind him that Matthew Hayman was 38 when he won Paris-Roubaix, and he smiles.
“I’m still a few years away from 38, but I can feel that I now reached a point where the end of my career is not so far away anymore. The end of this season was not as I wanted it. I never really came back to a proper level after the Tour de France. The Tour itself was great and the way we rode as a team gives me so much motivation to continue but I look at it year by year now. Once you know and feel you want to stop, you should stop. This job was always my dream, and it still is. Let’s see how many more years the dream will go on.”
The German is not only a professional cyclist but also a policeman. In many countries like Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, and also Germany pro athletes were incorporated in the army or police forces to combine work and sport in an optimal way.
“When I was 16 or 17, I could do my sport during the season and focus on school stuff in the winter. I am still a trained policeman and could join the police so it’s nice to have that to fall back. I saw during my cycling career that things can change quickly but to be honest it’s not on my mind now,” he smiles.
At home, Degenkolb gets to see the sport from a different angle too. His son Leo is now taking his first steps on the bike and his wife is part of the organizing committee of Eschborn-Frankfurt, a one-day WorldTour race.
“When it comes to the safety issues that are often discussed I can see the side of the organizers too,” he observes. “There are always two sides. I think one thing we can already improve is to hold every race to the same standards but there is no miracle cure that if we do this or that, there will never be an accident again. This sport is never without risks, we must be honest about that. There is always a chance that things go horribly wrong because you are on open roads. You will never achieve zero risks, but it would already be important to have one clear set of rules that everyone in cycling follows.”
Leo, who is nine years old, is loving the sport. He sees how generations are connected because just like his dad before him, John now has to slow down his son.
“He also plays football and wants to play tennis which is good because at this age they just need to look around and have fun in sports,” he says with a smile. “But it always come back to cycling with him because that is what he sees me do every day. It’s literally in our family because my father was a cyclist too. My son did a few races already. You can see in his eyes that he has the passion, but time will tell.
“I hope that when he continues that he finds the same joy I found in it. I love that it is a team sport. I like that I met so many people over the years that share my passion. My best friend from cycling when I was young is still my best friend. I hope my son gets the opportunity to travel the world with friends. A pro cycling career is a stressful thing but the moments you share with your friends and teammates around the world make it all worthwhile. That is something to really look forward when you chase the dream to become a professional.”
John Degenkolb counts down the days to his 15th season as a professional cyclist. The German comes across as kind and selfless and that reflects in his goals for 2025.
“I still want to achieve the goal of winning together because to feel valued by your teammates is the best feeling. You get to bring something to the team that makes it better. That’s what I still aim to do every day, to make the team better.”
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