The Tour de France, the most important cycling race in the world, starts on Saturday. For the German pros, it’s a matter of one day’s success at best. One ex-pro is confident.
Jan Ullrich is optimistic. At least when it comes to the potential of the German cycling professionals at the Tour de France. “We can already win a stage. I also believe that we will manage to do so at the Tour this year,” said the 50-year-old former professional to the German Press Agency before the 111th edition of the Tour de France, which begins on Saturday.
Ullrich, who won the Tour in 1997 and confessed to doping last year, won seven Tour stages between 1996 and 2003. “The possibility is always there,” he said. “Even a man like Simon Geschke can join a group.”
Geschke, at 38 one of the oldest professional cyclists in this year’s big loop, is more pessimistic than Ullrich. “Realistically speaking, my chances of winning a stage are very slim,” said the Freiburg native when asked by dpa. This will be his twelfth and last participation in the most famous tour in the world. After this season, the one-time Tour stage winner (2015) will end his career.
Geschke: Not “such hot candidates” as Belgium
Geschke will be competing in the Italian city of Florence on Saturday together with seven other Germans. In 2017 there were 16 starters. At least the trend is slightly upward: in 2023 seven German professionals took part. For comparison: the French are represented by 32 racers this year, the Belgians by 28 professionals.
Nils Politt, for example, is travelling from the black, red and gold camp as a helper to two-time Tour winner Tadej Pogacar. After sprinter Phil Bauhaus and Georg Zimmermann from Augsburg narrowly missed out on a stage win last year, both are now starting again. Veteran John Degenkolb, Bauhaus colleague Nikias Arndt and Tour debutants Pascal Ackermann and Nico Denz complete the German squad.
For the eight riders, it’s all about stage wins – but only if they get the freedom from their teams and are not intended to help their colleagues. Politt last achieved a daily victory on the twelfth stage in 2021.
“I would see the Germans as outsiders for a stage win,” said Geschke. “We don’t have such hot candidates as perhaps the Belgians with Wout van Aert and Jasper Philipsen,” he added.
Hopes for Bauhaus and Zimmermann
Hopes are mainly pinned on Bauhaus, who, according to Geschke, “has a very good chance of winning the stage.” But the oldie sees someone else ahead. “Georg Zimmermann is a strong rider and, in my opinion, is the hottest candidate for a stage win,” predicted Geschke. And himself? “It would be a surprise for me to win the breakaway groups,” he said. He put in a great performance at the Giro in May – and finished 14th in the overall ranking.
Two young riders also attracted attention in Italy: Georg Steinhauser and Florian Lipowitz. Steinhauser achieved a spectacular stage win, which even earned him praise from Pogacar. Neither of them are taking part in the Tour. Steinhauser’s success also pleased Jan Ullrich. He is the 22-year-old’s uncle. “He rode a mega Giro and has great potential,” praised Ullrich.
Problems with young talent in cycling
Like other sports, cycling in this country is plagued by problems with young talent. From the point of view of many observers, there are too few cycling races, the equipment is too expensive for many families and there is a lack of presence, as Germany is not one of the big cycling nations like Belgium or Italy. “There is a lack of talent, especially in terms of numbers,” said Ralph Denk, team manager of the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe team, when asked by dpa. There is one or two talents, but there are too few races and the starting fields are too small.
Starting with the Tour, the energy drink giant Red Bull will be joining the Bora team. The partnership is primarily intended to find and promote young riders. From 2025, there will be a separate U23 team. Talents from the youth level will be promoted to the World Tour team. And they may soon increase the number of German riders in the Tour de France.
Source: Stern
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