Cycling: Surprises & bad luck: The tour testimony of the Germans

With only seven professional cyclists, the German fraction at the Tour de France was the smallest it had been in over two decades. But the mini-contingent was fun, even if it didn’t work out with a stage win. On the other hand, Georg Zimmermann impressed with his stages as a breakaway and Phil Bauhaus sprinted into the world elite. However, there were also two unlucky ones.

Phil Bauhaus

“In Germany, I’m not known that well,” Bauhaus told dpa before the Grand Départ in Bilbao. Understandable, because the sprinter had to be 28 years old for his first tour participation. Awareness should have increased significantly, after all, Bauhaus raced to second place and twice to third place in the mass sprints. It was never far from winning. But the Alps were too much for the power pack. Bauhaus gave up on the 17th stage.

George Zimmerman

He was so close to his lifelong dream. But on the tenth stage, the Spaniard Pello Bilbao was a bit stronger in the sprint than the man from Augsburg. Zimmermann was terribly annoyed at first, but quickly recovered. The goal is a stage win in the tour. “If it’s only ten years away, then that’s okay as long as it works,” said the 25-year-old. In fact, it should only be a matter of time.

Simon Geschke

The man from Freiburg impressed in 2022 with his dogged fight for the mountain jersey. A year later, Geschke no longer reached the level of the previous year, a longer corona illness had impaired the preparation. On the 18th stage, the 37-year-old had to give up with stomach problems. “My body decided for me. I could hardly eat and that’s the death penalty in a race like this,” said Geschke.

Nils Politt

The man from Cologne was in really good form, but also had a lot of bad luck. On the 19th stage, Politt was well placed in the breakaway group when his chain broke and his dream of winning the stage was shattered. He will leave the Bora-hansgrohe team and join Tadej Pogacar’s UAE team. He has to fight harder for a place on the Tour.

Emmanuel Buchman

Bora captain Jai Hindley’s noble assistant was in very good shape. Although he is not yet in the form of 2019 or 2020, said Buchmann. However, a clear upward trend was discernible. In the overall standings, Buchmann will end up in the top 25.

Nickias Arndt

As a starter, he was something of Phil Bauhaus’s twin. After his exit, he kept up in the sprints, but had no chance against the specialists. “The tour was brutally difficult this year. I would have liked to have arrived in Paris with him,” said Arndt, referring to the Bauhaus.

John Degenkolb

Did his job as road captain, put his own successes on the back burner. The tour did not go according to plan for his DSM team. Captain Romain Bardet retired after a fall, sprinter Sam Welsford did not deliver in the sprints to Paris.