The fastest stage in the history of the Tour de France gave way to the strangest and most disorganised sprint of this year’s race, but was it also dangerous?

Won by Uno-X Mobility’s Søren Wærenskjold in Nevers, after the Norwegian launched his sprint with 350m to go and held off a late challenge from stage five winner Olav Kooij and Jasper Philipsen (who was reinstated as the third-placed finisher after initially being relegated).

Though the final few kilometres were devoid of sharp turns, roundabouts and pinch points, they were largely held on narrow roads, restricting the chance for teams to organise their leadout trains. That’s partly why the door opened up to Wærenskjold to come from deep and go early.

Picnic PostNL, riding for young Czech sprinter Pavel Bittner, joined Soudal Quick-Step at the front of the peloton with just over 20km to go, and for a brief moment the prospect of echelons arose.

His veteran teammate John Degenkolb denied that he and Picnic were “really pushing for echelons”, but instead suggested that the peloton was nervous because of the finishing route.

“It was just the positioning because everyone knew the final was very, very sketchy,” the German told Cycling Weekly. “It was not a good final to have a sprint stage of the Tour de France.

“The road was quite narrow from 6km to go. It was crazy stress and chaotic just to start the sprint at 2km to go. I don’t think it was the best place to finish a stage like that.”

Asked if the course was unsafe, Degenkolb added: “I think for sure it’s a stage finish that helps to increase the stress. There might be other options to have different and better sprints.

“It’s quite disappointing not to have a result because of a finish like that.” Bittner finished 23rd.

Tim Merlier, who has won two stages in the race so far, didn’t directly criticise the course, but he was held up to the point that he could only finish 15th, despite being the pre-stage favourite.

“It was hectic,” the Belgian said. “They blocked the road and with 2km to go we started to try to lead it out but I didn’t find a place to launch a sprint. I need to brake too many times.”

But Wærenskjold refuted the suggestion that the sprint was unsafe. “For me I didn’t feel like it was so dangerous,” the 26-year-old said. “But I was up at the front so it probably felt a little different for me.

“I feel like it was quite similar to stage eight which was also a bit technical in the final. I didn’t think it was that dangerous. I’ve raced stages before where it’s been more hectic and more crazy.”

The reason Wærenskjold went early, he said, had nothing to do with the technical nature of the parcours, but more to do with feeling like he had “nothing to lose” after crashing the day before.

“If I didn’t have the crash yesterday, I don’t think I would have taken that gap,” he said. “I tried to follow my instinct, and took the gap on the right hand side, even though it was a bit far out.

“Even though I crashed yesterday, I probably wouldn’t have done the same as I did today. I’m guessing a bit but I’m quite sure of it.”

Stage 12, finishing in Chalon-sur-Saône, should also be an opportunity for the sprinters. That includes one 90 degree right-hand turn and two roundabouts in the finale before a long finishing straight.

John Degenkolb has insisted that his departure from Trek-Segafredo had nothing to do with his omission from their 2019 Tour de France squad.

The German had ridden six straight French Grand Tours since his debut in 2013 until he was left out this year, as the team took home four wins courtesy of Thomas De Gendt and Caleb Ewan.

After three years at Trek, Degenkolb has signed with Lotto-Soudal for the 2020 season. What awaits him is not yet known, however, and he says he isn't thinking about whether he will ride the Tour next year as the Belgian outfit start to make rough plans for the season ahead.

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"It's not like you're looking for another team if you're not taken to the Tour, which was definitely not the reason why I left the team," Degenkolb told Radsport News.

"We had the first team meeting and talked roughly about the direction it will take - especially for the Classics - we want to take the team to a higher level and get more results than in the past."

Although Lotto-Soudal are losing Tiesj Benoot to Sunweb, the signing of Degenkolb and 2019 Paris-Roubaix winner Philippe Gilbert will give them a great chance of taking home a number of big wins in the early season.

The duo will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with in the Classics, having won seven Monuments between them. Degenkolb says when they both knew they were heading to Lotto-Soudal they had time in races to start building a relationship.

"It was already clear during the Vuelta that we would both switch to Lotto-Soudal and we already had one or two opportunities to talk, we get along well," Degenkolb said.

"There will be a lot of overlaps in the spring and we will be traveling together - even in winter, to create a certain microstructure in the team."

Degenkolb's schedule has not yet been set, although it is likely he will target at least one of the spring Classics, with Tim Wellens and Caleb Ewan further options alongside Gilbert, for the Belgian squad to turn to.

John Degenkolb will be joining Lotto-Soudal next season as they continue to add talent to their Classics line-up.

The German sprinter will be making the switch from Trek-Segafredo on a two-year deal, saying he wants to target his own glories while also supporting their star Caleb Ewan.

Degenkolb, who won the Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix double in 2015, was one of six riders hit by a car while training in Calpe, Spain, in 2016 and fought his way back to an emotional stage victory at the Tour de France last season.

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The 30-year-old said: “The talks with Lotto-Soudal have revealed that there are many similarities between the team’s goals and mine. It makes sense that a Belgian team with a long history in cycling wants to excel during the Classics. That will be the aim for the first part of the season.

"In addition, I’m not slow at the finish, especially after a tough race. Of course, I also look forward to working with Caleb Ewan, who will undoubtedly be our number-one sprinter for his specific goals. But with my experience, I can provide added value for him and for Lotto-Soudal. The team is often active on two or three fronts, which increases the chance to obtain nice results.”

Degenkolb started his WorldTour career in 2011 with HTC-High Road, before joining Argos-Shimano where he had most success.

He has wins in all three Grand Tours, including a spectacular victory on the Roubaix cobbles of the Tour last year.

But his biggest success came in 2015, when he took his first Monument victory from a bunch sprint at Milan-San Remo, then followed up with a second two weeks later on the iconic Roubaix velodrome, winning from a six-rider group.

Degenkolb added: “I am firmly convinced that I have reached the age to earn good results on the highest level and to keep performing during the most important races. I know the races, the courses and I have the physical capacities."

Lotto-Soudal have also signed five-time Monument winner Philippe Gilbert from their Belgian rivals Deceuninck – Quick-Step, adding an experienced and consistent Classics star to their roster.

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Team boss Marc Sergeant said: “With John Degenkolb and Philippe Gilbert, we managed to add two great riders to our team. John is fast after a hard race, which makes a big difference if you go to the line with, for example twenty riders.

“I hope that we will get to see the best of Degenkolb the coming years and I am convinced that he is capable of doing so.

“As a team, you need certain riders as a signboard, which usually has a good impact on the other guys. John has gathered a lot of experience and a big credibility inside the peloton. He indicated that he wants to recognise and try to take opportunities, we will for sure be able to define some nice objectives, he is flexible in terms of his race schedule and he definitely wants to commit himself to Caleb Ewan.”

Degenkolb said his targets for the remaining months with Trek-Segafredo will be stages of the Vuelta a España and then the World Championships, which will close out his three-year stint with the team.

John Degenkolb has weighed in on Marcel Kittel’s premature exit from cycling, saying the happiness of his German compatriot and former team-mate is more important than a future in the sport.

Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) came through the ranks with the embattled Kittel, both rising to WorldTour prominence with early incarnations of Team Sunweb.

“I’m in touch with him and I help him as good as I can. It’s very important to stick together. We’ve been through so many great and also bad moments in our lives and it’s not, even if he stops cycling now, or he doesn’t come back, it doesn’t mean his life is over,” said Degenkolb.

The 14-time Tour de France stage winner Kittel on Thursday released a statement announcing his split from Katusha-Alpecin - who he joined last season - and leave from cycling.

“On my request Team Katusha-Alpecin and I mutually decided to an early termination of my current contract,” it read. “In the last two months I have had the feeling of being exhausted. At this moment, I am not able to train and race at the highest level. For this reason, I have decided to take a break and time for myself, think about my goals and make a plan for my future.”

Kittel went from winning 14 races with former team Quick-Step in 2017 - including five stages of the Tour de France in which virtually all his rivals mentally ceded – to two in his first year with Katusha-Alpecin that in total took just four scalps following a roster overhaul.

The 31-year-old Kittel recently described his debut season with the outfit as “black”.

“You know after 2018, I learned again what a business it is we are in,” he told Procycling Magazine. “A lot of it was black in 2018. I don’t have to hide that. It goes very quick that you feel you’re on your own, and then it’s hard to see the reasons why you’re actually doing this.”

Kittel started the season with the aim of ascending back to the top of the sprint hierarchy and won his second race of the year but faded thereafter.

Asked if he believed whether the five-time Scheldeprijs champion would return to the WorldTour later this year with another team, or in future, Degenkolb said it was irrelevant.

“I think the question is not right now if he comes back in cycling or not. The question, or the main focus, should be he comes to the point that he enjoys what he does. It doesn’t matter what it is,” Degenkolb said.

The former Paris-Roubaix champion said Kittel’s hardship was not something he could personally relate to.

“In these situations, it’s very hard to put yourself in that position because every time it’s different,” he said.

John Degenkolb has launched a fundraising campaign to save the junior Paris-Roubaix race, raising more €10,000 in one day.

The race faced cancellation due a major sponsorship gap, with the German sprinter stepping up to save the event for fledgling Classics riders.

Degenkolb launched a gofundme page on Saturday (February 16) in the hope of raising €10,000 (£8,700) but quickly surpassed the target.

The campaign had passed €14,000 (£12,200) at the time of publication.

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Trek-Segafredo rider Degenkolb said: “It was clear to me I wanted to do everything possible to prevent this worst case.

“Not only because I have a special relationship with Paris-Roubaix – a race that fascinated me as a child and directly infected me with a fascination for cycling – but also because of its importance for the support of young talents.

“If cycling should have a sustainable future, we need such races for the young guns.”

Paris-Roubaix Juniors was first held in 2003, and has been a platform for many young riders who later went on to great heights.

Former winners include Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) in 2004 and Degenkolb’s team-mate and Classics specialists Jasper Stuyven in 2010.

British riders have a strong pedigree in the race, with Andy Fenn winning in 2008, Tom Pidcock in 2019 and Lewis Askey last season.

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The money raised through the fundraising campaign will go to Les Amis de Paris-Roubaix (the friends of Paris-Roubaix), a group of volunteers that maintains and restores the iconic cobbles.

Degenkolb also donated €2,500 himself.

The 30-year-old has fond memories from the cobbled Classic, after he claimed victory in Roubaix Velodrome in 2015.

He then took glory on the Roubaix inspired stage of the 2018 Tour de France, an emotional win after his return from injury.

Degenkolb added: “Together we can make a small contribution to protect cycling history.”

John Degenkolb says his Roubaix stage win at the Tour de France “was the most emotional victory of his career.”

The 29-year-old rode to a memorable win on the cobbles of stage nine, drawing a line under a difficult few years for him.

Speaking at the launch of the new Trek-Segafredo kit, held at the Rouleur Classic in central London, the German told Cycling Weekly: “It was definitely the most emotional victory of my whole career.

“Winning such a big stage after a long time with a lot of struggling, it was a great reward for all the fights I had to go through.

“It was definitely super tough and I was heading from one setback to the next and I always kept believing in myself and kept standing up and just getting into the next challenge.

“It was definitely turning the page and closing the case.”

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After building up a glowing palmarès – including two Monument titles and stage wins in all three Grand Tours – Degenkolb’s record has been sparse in recent years.

After winning both Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in 2015, Degenkolb was involved in a horrific training crash while riding with Giant-Alpecin team-mates in January 2016.

The German and five team-mates were hospitalised after being hit by a car in Calpe, Spain.

Degenkolb suffered injuries to his thigh, forearm, lip and nearly severed a finger in the crash.

Since that awful incident and amidst the switch from Giant-Alpecin to Trek-Segafredo in 2017, Degenkolb has fought to return to former highs.

The sprinter hadn’t won a race at the top tier since the final stage Vuelta a España in 2015, until stage nine of this year’s Tour de France.

In a day defined by the chaos, Degenkolb fought over the legendary cobbles on the road to Roubaix to the win.

After breaking away with 20km left to ride, the German out-sprinted Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) and Quick-Step Floors’ Yves Lampaert in the final to end his run of misfortune.

Now Degenkolb hopes he can look to future victories at the highest level.

“I would try to win bigger races next year again and I’m really looking forward to starting next season,” he said.

“It’s a good sign to be already two weeks into the off-season, motivated to go on the bike again and I’m really looking forward to getting the training started soon.”

When considering his palmarès, there are two huge races Degenkolb notices are missing: “There are two races that are definitely lifetime goals – the World Championships and the Tour of Flanders. These two races I haven’t won yet and it would be an amazing dream.

“We will see. I haven’t looked so much in detail at the parcours in Yorkshire.

"Definitely the first goal is the Classics season in January.”

An emotional win for John Degenkolb

It’s been a long journey for John Degenkolb since the horrific crash he suffered on a training ride at the start of 2016.

Although he managed to return to racing a few months later, the German has in the subsequent years fallen short of the extraordinary form that saw him win both Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in his last season before the crash.

Just when it seemed as though we’d never again see the Degenkolb of old, however, he produced an exceptional display on the cobbles, joining the yellow jersey of Greg van Avermaet (BMC) and Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Floors) on the penultimate section of pave, and staying composed to use his superior sprint for the win.

Even during his prime years, a Tour de France stage was something that eluded Degenkolb, who finished second in a total of five stages between 2013-2015, and once again in 2017, before finally winning today.

With all this in mind, it’s easy to understand Degenkolb’s deeply emotional reaction at the finish. Given all he’s been through, his success today will be popular among fans across the world.

Most GC riders survive the stage intact

For all the chaos, for all the carnage, for all the crashes, there was surprisingly little change in the GC once the dust had settled.

Almost every major GC contender seemed to spend some time either out the back and / or suffer a crash or puncture, yet come the end of the stage most finished in a substantial group of several dozen riders.

Present in that group was Chris Froome (Sky), despite crashing (relatively softly) on sector 8; Mikel Landa (Movistar) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r), who had looked set to lose time before a speedy late chase saw their group catch back up to the peloton; and Dan Martin (UAE Emirates), resurgent after yesterday’s crash, and who even managed to gain time by claiming bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint.

The most significant incident in the GC actually occured before a cobblestone had been ridden, with Richie Porte (BMC) abandoning after a crash early in the day, much like Chris Froome four years ago.

The only major GC favorite to lose significant time was Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First). Last year’s runner-up is now 2-53 adrift having been unable to bridge back to the peloton following a crash, a deficit that will be difficult to bridge but not big enough yet to end his GC ambitions.

Romain Bardet survives nightmare day

Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) endured the kind of day that every GC rider in the race will have been dreading the hellish cobblestones might serve up.

Having re-conned the cobbles earlier this year by racing Dwars Door Vlaanderen, and as a rider praised for his great bike-handling, Bardet might have been one of the GC riders to take the race on against the others.

But things certainly didn’t shape up that way. The day started badly when he had to stop three times for a puncture and two bike changes over the first few sectors, then preceded to get worse when he punctured again on sector nine.

Somehow, after eventually making it back into the peloton after a long chase, he proceeded to suffer yet another puncture with just 6km to go, and it was only down to some exceptional work from his teammates (and maybe, allegedly, some motorbike assistance) that he managed to make it back again and limit his losses to just seven seconds.

It could be argued that in such circumstances you make your own luck, and perhaps Bardet was riding too much in the gutter, where the risks of puncturing are greater?

But such a judgment would be very harsh. Ultimately, Bardet – as well as his very impressive team – did very well to survive the stage with their GC hopes in tact.

BMC see GC hopes go up in smoke

Everything had been going so well for BMC. The team had enjoyed the collective thrill of winning the team time trial stage, had spent most of the week in control of the yellow jersey through Greg van Avermaet, and had Richie Porte in a strong position on GC.

But the team’s long term plans for the Tour were dramatically scuppered when Porte crashed and broke his collarbone, forcing the Australian to yet again abandon the Tour having looked in good enough form to challenge for the overall – a pattern that has bee frustratingly familiar throughout his Grand Tour career.

Worse still, BMC’s plan B went up in smoke when Tejay van Garderen crashed and finished over five minutes down, and the stage even ended in disappointment when Van Avermaet was out-sprinted to the line by Degenkolb for the win.

On the bright side, the Belgian not only defended the yellow jersey, but extended his lead to 43 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas (Sky).

But it’s likely the team will only have one more stage in control of the jersey as the Tour reaches the Alps following tomorrow’s rest day, after which they’ll need to regroup and devise a new strategy for how to ride for the rest of the race.

Thrilling drama or farce?

The stage undoubtedly produced a ton of drama, with barely a minute going by without some sort of incident taking place on the road.

But most of that drama was confined to crashes and mechanicals. Unlike most editions of the real Paris-Roubaix, or even the Tour’s visit to the cobblestones of northern France in 2014, there wasn’t actually much action off the front of the peloton, with most selections being forced through crashes rather than attacks, until the trio of Degenkolb, Lampaert and Van Avermaet broke clear.

A Tour de France stage should test riders in many different ways, and it’s great to see pavé included in the route. But the sheer number of crashes, with so many riders with so little experience of riding in this environment, it did threaten to become something of a farce.

At times it felt more like a lottery in which the winners were those who managed to avoid incident, rather than a test of bravery and skill.

There are plenty of examples of the Tour being boosted by a cobbled stage like today – but this particularly stage was perhaps a little too extreme for the mix of riders gathered to take part.

John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) won stage nine of the Tour de France, sprinting early from a three man breakaway including Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) and Yves Lampaert (Quick-Step Floors).

The trio broke away with sixteen kilometres left. Come the finishing stretch, Degenkolb was the first to make a move in what could have been a suicidal lead out if either of his companions had been able to swing past him.

In the end, neither could - leaving the Trek-Segafredo man the opportunity to collect the spoils ahead of Van Avermaet in second and Lampaert third.

The 156km stage from Arras to Roubaix included 12 of the cobbled sectors which featured in this year's Paris-Roubaix, plus three bonus stretches of pavé, and provided a huge challenge for the general classification contenders.

The biggest GC casualty was Richie Porte (BMC), who crashed in the first 10km of the race, abandoning with a suspected broken collarbone.

The GC rider to lose the most time was Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac), who crossed the line 1 minute 58 down on Degenkolb, and around 1-30 down on his key rivals.

It was a tough day out for Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), too, who was forced to close gaps well over a minute on multiple occasions following mechanicals.

Both Mikel Landa (Movistar) and Chris Froome (Team Sky) crashed during the stage. Landa was forced to chase, though just about made contact with the likes of Froome, Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) before the line.

How it happened

The cobbles of stage nine were always expected to cause ripples in the GC, and the first key abandonment came with just 10km of racing down.

Richie Porte (BMC Racing) who had entered the stage in tenth overall crashed early on, leaving the race with a suspected broken collarbone.

Movistar domestique José Joaquín Rojas also abandoned, and Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) came down, but was able to chase back on.

The incident in the peloton meant that a group of five escapees built up a lead of two minutes. The break consisted of Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Antwan Tolhoek (LottoNL-Jumbo), Jerome Cousin (Direct Energie), Damien Gaudin (Direct Energie) and Omar Fraile (Astana).

They were soon joined by the bridging efforts of Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, (Team Dimension Data), Lilian Calmejane (Direct Energie), Chad Haga (Sunweb), Olivier le Gac (Groupama – FDJ) and Nicolas Edet (Cofidis, Solutions Crédits).

Approaching the first sector, Tolhoek punctured, ending his time with the breakaway.

Back in the peloton, a puncture for Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) saw him take a wheel from team mate Alexis Vuillermoz; he was left with a one-minute deficit to fill on the peloton, though he was able to make up the time by the next sector.

Come sector 13, with 87 kilometres left, the break had a 3-40 gap to the peloton.

With 66km to go, a pile up in the peloton split the bunch. Soon after, Team Sky came to the front and pushed the pace - with Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) plus Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) and yellow jersey Greg van Avermaet (BMC) safely nestled in, as well as 2018 Paris Roubaix winner Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe).

Behind the train of Team Sky and its stowaways, a second bunch containing Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) and Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) was 20s in arrears.

A full minute back was BMC's nominated leader behind Porte – Tejay van Garderen, who collided with Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Merida) and picked up a flat tyre not long after.

The pace of the select group at the front of the peloton meant that the gap to the escapees began to sink - with 51km to go, the time distance had dropped to 1-37. Then Bardet suffered another mechanical issue that left him with another gap to close, this time around 40s.

At the end of the longest cobbled sector, at 49km to go, Van Avermaet attacked, stringing out the bunch, and with 45km left Froome found himself on the floor before jumping back up to continue the fight. By this point, there was just 58s to the break.

Philippe Gilbert (Quick Step Floors) was next to put in a dig, though Sagan and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) were on his wheel immediately, closing down the attack.

In the bunch, Michal Kwiatkowsi (Team Sky) came down on sector six, whilst Froome sat a safe second wheel behind Jakob Fugslang (Astana).

Not long after, Mikel Landa (Movistar) was down, leaving him chasing over a minute and Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) also had a spill.

Up front, the break had blown itself apart, reduced to just two riders – Gaudin and  Van Rensburg – with a slimmed down lead of 25s with only 25km left, and come the 20km to go mark they'd been absorbed.

The stage-winning move came with 16km left, when Lampaert attacked, taking with him Degenkolb and Van Avermaet. Sagan missed the moment and attempted to chase solo, before limping back to the peloton.

With 10km to go, the trio had 34s, accelerating to 51s with 5km to go.

Behind, the GC leaders still in the lead bunch - such as Froome, Landa (who had made it back), Dumoulin and Quintana began to attack each other whilst Bardet and Uran were still adrift. The drop in pace meant that Bardet was eventually able to make it back, though the same could not be said for Uran.

Coming into the finish straight, Degenkolb was the first to go - reaching the line first with Van Avermaet in second and Lampaert third.

Results

Tour de France stage nine: Arras to Roubaix (156km)

1 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo in 3-24-26

2 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team

3 Yves Lampaert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors

4 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors at 19s

5 Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe

6 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo

7 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors, at same time

8 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal at 27s

9 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data

10 Timothy Dupont (Bel) Wanty-Groupe Gobert, at same time

General Classification after stage nine

1 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team in 36-07-17

2 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky at 43s

3 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors at 44s

4 Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors at 50s

5 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team at 1-31

6 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe at 1-32

7 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team at 1-33

8 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky at 1-42

9 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott at 1-42

10 Mikel Landa (Spa) Movistar Team at 1-42

John Degenkolb's preparations for the 2018 Spring Classics season hit a stumbling block on Thursday as he abandoned Paris-Nice due to bronchitis.

The 29-year-old Trek-Segafredo rider withdrew from the French race after stage five from Salon-de-Provence to Sisteron. He placed 130th on the stage in a group that came in over 11 minutes down on winner Jérôme Cousin (Direct Energie).

Trek-Segafredo announced Degenkolb's abandon via Twitter, saying: "Unfortunately @johndegenkolb suffers from bronchitis and won't take the start in stage 6 tomorrow."

Degenkolb himself said: "It was a difficult decision but I cannot take health risks now, with my big goals coming up. But no worries, I will be there to 'chase aces'."

On Monday, March 5, Degenkolb said on his own Twitter account that he was not happy with his performance on the opening two days of Paris-Nice, saying: "Honestly, I am not happy with the results of both stages, not at all. I was always ways too far behind in the final. We have to do much better tomorrow and the next few days."

Degenkolb has already taken two victories this season, claiming two wins in the four-race Challenge Mallorca in late January.

He won Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in a successful 2015 season, but could not defend either race in 2016 after being involved in a training incident where he was hit by a car and nearly lost one of his fingers.

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Degenkolb bounced back in 2017, with a strong of top 10 places in the Classics, including fifth in Ghent-Wevelgem, and seventh in both the Tour of Flanders and Milan-San Remo.

With the flatter stages over, the remaining three stages of Paris-Nice are more for the climbers and general classification riders than sprinters.

Several other riders abandoned the race before or during stage five, including stage two winner Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo), French sprinter Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) and British rider Dan McLay (EF Education First-Drapac).

Currently, Spaniard Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) leads Paris-Nice with a margin of 15 seconds over Team Sky's Wout Poels. The race concludes on Sunday, March 11.

It has been clear in the past that John Degenkolb has a passion for other two wheeled transport and has dedicated his last two custom designs to his love of motor bikes, including the 'cafe racer' style, which we saw last year with Degenkolb's Trek Domané.

This year he'll be using the Trek Madone, the American brand's dedicated aero machine, which we have found to be one of the most aero road bikes available to date.

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Themed as "Chasin' Aces" this paint job is aimed at motivating Degenkolb to more victories this season having already won two stages at Challenge Mallorca on this bike. Despite the picture above the frame is actually a Black Moss base colour with subtle pin-striping and red fade on the inside of the forks.

"For me, my new Madone is one of the most beautiful bikes I have ever ridden," Degenkolb said.

"I like this perfect combination between a great colour and all the nice details that give me a lot of motivation to keep chasing the aces and adding more of those to my palmarés. I have got already two of them and I want to collect some more."

Unlike previous pro custom bikes, however, this Trek Madone will be available to purchase via Trek Bike's Project One portal. If this bike doesn't take your fancy then you'll be able to customise your own, of course.

This Trek Madone is the Race Shop Ltd version, which is available to the public, and made from the highest grade carbon available to Trek (700 Series OCLV carbon). It also has a very aggressive position, although this bike does also come in an H2 spec with a lower grade carbon and a slightly more relaxed geometry.

We found the Trek Madone to be one of the fastest bikes on the market in our in house testing, check out a full review here.

John Degenkolb took his second victory in the 2018 Challenge Mallorca, winning the final of the event's four races on Sunday, the Trofeo Palma.

The Trek-Segafredo rider out-sprinted Slovak Erik Baska (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Dutchman Coen Vermeltfoort (Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij) to secure the win.

Degenkolb only contested the first and fourth days of the Challenge Mallorca, making it a 100 per cent success rate for the 29 year old. Prior to his double wins, his previous victory was a stage of the Dubai Tour one year ago.

#ChallengeMallorca YES! @johndegenkolb takes a fantastic sprint victory in Palma! pic.twitter.com/4wGIQBsf01

— Trek-Segafredo (@TrekSegafredo) January 28, 2018

A six-man escape group had formed up early on in the 159.6-kilometre race run, which was held under sunnier skies than the previous two days. The sextet of escapees pushed their gap out to over five minutes at its maximum.

>>> John Degenkolb sprints to first win of 2018 on opening day of Challenge Mallorca

Degenkolb suffered a puncture just as the race was hitting 50km to go, but swiftly made his way back into the bunch – with the effort evidently having done little to ultimately affect his sprint.

Work by Degenkolb's team in unison with Lotto-Soudal ensured that the catch was made after the race had tackled its only climb of the day, the Coll de sa Creu with around 40km to the finish line in Palma.

Degenkolb then finished off his team's effort perfectly, being not only his second win but Trek-Segafredo's third as Tom Skujins had won Saturday's hilly Trofeo Lloseta-Andratx.

"We showed again we were the strongest team in the race," Degenkolb said after the finish. "It was fantastic teamwork; we took responsibility to control the race from the start and everyone on the team did the job he had to do. I had some bad luck just before the climb and I had to come back after a flat tyre and it cost some energy, but it the end I was still able to follow in the big group.

"In the leadout, we picked the right moment to come to the front, and I only had to do the last 200 meters! So that was for me super nice and I am so happy. This victory is definitely a team victory - for all of us. We took the responsibility and we got the reward for it."

Many of the riders in the Challenge Mallorca – including Degenkolb – will now turn their attention to mainland Europe and the start of the 2018 spring classics.

Result

Challenge Mallorca 2018: Trofeo Palma, 159.6km

1. John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo

2. Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe

3. Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Roompot-Nederlandse Loterij

4. Enrique Sanz (Esp) Euskadi-Basque Country

5. Carlos Barbero (Esp) Movistar

6. Alberto Torres (Esp) Spanish national team

7. Jordi Warlop (Bel) Sport Vlaanderen-Baloise

8. José Joaquín Rojas (Esp) Movistar

9. Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Sky

10. Xavier Canellas (Esp) Spanish national team, all same time

John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) took his first victory of the 2018 season on Thursday, winning the bunch sprint at the end of the Trofeo Campos-Porreres-Felanitx-Ses Salines, the opening day of the Challenge Mallorca.

The German claimed the win in the 177.7-kilometre race on the Spanish island ahead of Norwegian Sondre Holst Enger (Israel Cycling Academy) with Belgian Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Soudal) completing the podium in third.

"It's a great feeling to get the first victory already, to achieve this together with the team," said Degenkolb after the win.

"We had a really nice week of training already this week in Mallorca, in the training camp, and to start the season like this with a win is always great.

"I felt really good; the team did a perfect job to make a good sprint for me. I have good memories of this race because for me this was my first professional race in 2011. Today was a great revival."

British rider Ian Stannard (Team Sky) made the lead group containing Degenkolb to finish in 25th place.

The day's eight-man break had been reeled in with around 15 kilometres to go and after the day's climbs had been tackled.

Degenkolb's last victory was back in February 2017, when he won a stage of the Dubai Tour.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWe7Q6ODB5w

The 2015 Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix winner was still finding his feet back in the peloton during late 2016 and much of 2017 after a horrific training crash in January 2016 that nearly saw him lose a finger after being hit by a car in Calpe, Spain.

The Trofeo Campos-Porreres-Felanitx-Ses Salines is the first of four separate races included in the annual Challenge Mallorca. Riders can take part in all four races, or select which events they wish to ride. There is a prize for the best-placed rider after the four days.

Many of the top teams like to use the races as an early-season warm-up to coincide with training camps on the island, away from the worst of the weather in northern Europe.

The Challenge Mallorca continues on Friday with the hilly Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana.

Degenkolb!!! El sprínter del @TrekSegafredo gana en Ses Salines!!! @johndegenkolb pic.twitter.com/Ohubha1Mpv

— ChallengeMallorca (@ChallengeMca) January 25, 2018

Result

Challenge Mallorca 2018: Trofeo Campos-Porreres-Felanitx-Ses Salines, 177.7km

1. John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo, in 4-02-18

2. Sondre Enger (Nor) Israel Cycling Academy

3. Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

4. Kenny Dehaes (Bel) WB Aqua Protect-Veranclassic

5. Albert Torres Barcelo (Spa) Spanish national team

6. Xavier Cañellas (Spa) Spanish national team

7. Daniele Bennati (Ita) Movistar Team

8. Erik Baska (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe

9. Leonardo Basso (Ita) Team Sky

10. Aaron Grosser (Ger) Team Sauerland NRW, all same time

John Degenkolb has been hospitalised for checks on his lungs and heart after having problems breathing and suffering a 'serious lack of power'.

In a statement issued by the German rider's Trek-Segafredo team on Friday, they said that the problems came to light during the Tour of Denmark last week. Degenkolb abandoned the race on stage five.

He had previously abandoned the Vuelta a España after four stages, suffering with bronchitis.

The team stressed that although Degenkolb feels well, he is staying in hospital as a precaution while the medical tests are being undertaken.

“In the last races he did, John suffered from breathing problems and a serious lack of power that prevented him to perform at his level," said Trek-Segafredo team doctor Jens Hinder.

"His condition was not improving enough over the last week, so we decided he had to undergo more profound examinations of his heart and lungs. John is feeling relatively well but has been hospitalised pending the results of these examinations.

"We will publish an update on his condition as soon as we have more information.”

Degenkolb's most successful season to date was in 2015, when he won both Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo, going on to claim a stage of the Vuelta a España later in the year.

The following year, disaster struck. During a Giant-Alpecin training camp in January 2016, Degenkolb was one of six of the squad's riders hit by a car during a training ride. He suffered numerous cuts and bruises, and nearly lost one of his fingers due to a laceration.

The incident meant that he missed out on defending his Roubaix and San Remo titles, and only returned to racing in May 2016.

A switch from Giant-Alpecin to Trek-Segafredo followed in 2017. Although Degenkolb has only claimed one victory so far in 2017 – a stage of the Dubai Tour in February – he has performed solidly, with top 10 results in Paris-Roubaix, Tour of Flanders, Ghent-Wevelgem and Milan-San Remo.

Degenkolb had originally been on Germany's long list for the elite men's road race at the World Championships in Norway, taking place on Sunday, but withdrew his name due to illness.

John Degenkolb has said that he and Michael Matthews have spoken since their altercation at the end of stage 16 of the Tour de France.

After the finish in Romans-sur-Isère, which Matthews (Team Sunweb) won by a wheel's length, TV footage caught Degenkolb riding alongside Matthews and appearing to strike him on the back of the head and left ear.

It is assumed that Degenkolb was upset about Matthews' sprint, and the post-race incident angered the Australian who said "I don’t think it’s very sportsmanlike.”

At the finish of stage 17, outside his team's hotel, Degenkolb told Cycling Weekly: "We spoke this morning."

Questioned on what his view was on the situation, the Trek-Segafredo rider refused to go into detail, saying: "Yesterday is yesterday and today is another day."

The 2015 Paris-Roubaix winner was reluctant to speak about the spat. Asked what he and Matthews spoke about in their exchange, he replied: "I think we have spoken already enough about it. The situation is over. It's a cleared up situation."

Degenkolb is likely to have two further chances of beating Matthews before the Tour finishes.

Friday's stage to Salon-de-Provence should end in a sprint, while Sunday's stage in Paris is expected to be contested by the remaining sprinters, including green jersey incumbent Matthews, Degenkolb and André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal).

Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) has registered his discontent after a spat with Tour de France stage 16 runner up John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) after the finish in Romans-sur-Isère.

A video shortly after the finish line, where the Australian won ahead of Degenkolb by a wheel's length, shows the incident, which will not be digested well at a Tour de France that has already saw Peter Sagan disqualified for irregular sprinting.

The footage shows Degenkolb ride up from behind on the right and appear to strike Matthews on the back of the head and left ear.

"I was waiting for the result and he grabbed me on the way past," Matthews said. "The officials saw it. We'll see what the officials will do about it. I don't think it's very sportsmanlike."

In the jury post-stage press release, Degenkolb failed to appear with other violations, including four riders fined 100 Swiss Francs for sticky bottles.

The UCI jury, ever-vigilant after the stage four Sagan incident, could still decide on the newly emerged footage. In 2010, when Carlos Barredo attacked Rui Costa after the finish, the jury fined them 400 Swiss Francs each, with Barredo also receiving a two month ban at the start of the 2011 season.

>>> Five talking points from stage 16 of the Tour de France

Trek-Segafredo lodged a complained against Matthews's sprint, saying that the Australian nudged the German sprinter in the final metres of Tuesday's stage, a charge that Matthews rejected.

"From my perspective, I don't think I did anything wrong. I didn't change my line, I sprinted in a straight line," Matthews responded.

"I'm not sure what was wrong with Degenkolb, but that's up to him."

Stepping into a Classics-shaped hole left by Fabian Cancellara at Trek-Segafredo this season was always going to be a challenge for any rider, even if that rider has victories in Ghent-Wevelgem, Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix on his palmarès.

When John Degenkolb signed for the American outfit at the start of this season from Giant-Alpecin, he had one key objective in mind: to add to his Monument victories this spring.

But the 28-year-old German insists he isn’t looking to make comparisons between himself and the now-retired, seven-time Monument winner.

Known as a gentleman off the bike but as aggressive as they come when on it, Cancellara was a perfectionist who was unrelenting in his pursuit of victory.

Degenkolb, meanwhile, has a different take on his own leadership style.

>>> John Degenkolb’s perfect Paris-Roubaix ride

“I don’t want to compare myself with Fabian because I’m a completely different person,” Degenkolb explains in the lead up to this year’s Classics campaign.

“I think I am a leader who is very honest to everyone.

“I always try to be very close to all my team-mates because that’s what helps you get the full potential out of everyone.

"If you race as one team, with one big spirit, then you can achieve more than if a director tells you what to do.

“I think the will for success has to come from the inside of the team, not from pressure outside.”

Watch now: Paris-Roubaix essential guide 2017

While Cancellara often liked to catch other riders unaware, attack and race alone, Degenkolb possesses a fast sprint alongside his one-day racing credentials.

It’s a sprint that has helped him secure multiple stage wins at the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, and means his rivals won’t want him there if the race ends in a group run-in to the line.

Trek has equally tweaked its Classics line-up to get the best out of him.

Riders like Stijn Devolder and Yaroslav Popovych departed with Cancellara, while Dutchman Koen de Kort — Degenkolb’s close friend — followed him from Giant to act as road captain.

Younger talents like Jasper Stuyven and Edward Theuns are set to be given more freedom, to complement the German’s racing style.

“I think I’m one of the guys who can handle the long distances the most,” Degenkolb says. “I can still perform really well when everybody has had to suffer a lot. I think it’s my biggest talent.

“Everybody checks how much fuel is in the tank and if there’s no fuel left then you get dropped or you do not have the punch to have the best sprint.

“That’s what it’s about, it’s about saving energy and riding smart, having a good team, the best equipment. In the Classics everything has to be perfect — the whole concept has to be perfect.”

German favourite

Softly spoken, polite and well-liked by fans, Degenkolb, along with the likes of Marcel Kittel and Tony Martin can be credited with reviving Germany’s faith and love for cycling in recent years.

Though the Tour de France Grand Départ in Düsseldorf doesn’t feature a stage suited to a sprinter like him, the fact the race is starting in Germany for the first time in 30 years this summer — potentially the only time it will do so during Degenkolb’s career — will be a motivation for him, he says.

But first there’s the Classics to race, and having been forced to watch last year’s campaign on television at home, after Degenkolb and his then team-mates were in collision with a car while they were on a training ride in Calpe, he is determined to prove he’s still got the form and condition he had in 2015.

“I’m of course very motivated to show again that I have big potential,” he explains. “I mean, I know that I can do this, but yeah, many guys thought that after what happened last year that maybe this is it.

“I think I’m on the best way to prove that I’m still there.”

This article originally appeared in Cycling Weekly magazine issue 30/03/2017

John Degenkolb made a shift from Giant-Alpecin who, as the team name suggests, raced Giant bikes in 2016 with a shift to Trek-Segafrado who - of course - ride Trek bikes for 2017.

He's been riding the incredibly aero Trek Madone so far this season but as of this weekend, Degenkolb has been tackling the cobbled Classics on his new custom Trek Domane.

This version of the Domane is the H1, or to those who'd like to buy one from Trek, Trek Domane SLR Race Shop Limited. It uses Trek's highest grade carbon 700OCLV, which is the lightest and strongest carbon used by Trek, as well as a racier geometry to the lower models of the range.

It'll set you back £10,500 too!

The Trek Domane party piece has always been its IsoSpeed technology found in the head tube and seat tube. Although the steerer tube is isolated at the front the amount of movement is fixed, where as the rear IsoSpeed decoupler is adjustable, giving a range of 20 per cent of compliance.

It's said that the custom paint job is a nod towards John Degenkolb's passions for motor bikes, specifically that classic 'cafe racer' style and we have to say, we adore the new Trek Domane in the shiny silver and contrasting glittery red.

Degenkolb raced this bike to a respectful fifth place at Ghent-Wevelgem last weekend and hopes to continue his form heading into the Tour of Flanders this weekend and then the weekend after Paris-Roubaix.

John Degenkolb might need to leave his manners at home over the next few weekends if he wants to win Tour of Flanders or to relive his win of Paris-Roubaix from 2015. At the very least he'll look classy aboard his new custom Trek Domane.

John Degenkolb said securing his maiden victory for Trek-Segafredo at his first race of the 2017 season “releases the pressure” going forward.

However, after winning the bunch sprint at the end of stage three of the Dubai Tour, both Degenkolb and race leader Marcel Kittel called for improved protocols to deal with extreme weather after the peloton was engulfed in a sandstorm during the day.

The 28-year-old German opened his account for the American squad, which he joined from Giant-Alpecin at the start of the year, in Dubai. The last time he won here at the start of 2015, Degenkolb went on to enjoy his most successful season to date, winning both Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix.

Degenkolb was forced to miss last year’s Spring Classics campaign with injury, after he and his team-mates were hit by a car while on a training camp in Calpe, Spain last January.

“The goal was to find the rhythm here and to have a good start into the season and that’s definitely what we’ve got already. Everything that comes now is a bonus,” Degenkolb said at the stage finish in Al Aqah.

“I’m really happy, the whole team is really happy I think that also releases the pressure - which was actually not there - but it’s always a nice feeling to start your first race with a victory, and going into a great Classics campaign.”

>>> Marcel Kittel 'won't accept and apology' for punch; calls for six-month ban for Astana rider

Much of Degenkolb’s lead-out in Dubai are riders likely to support him in the upcoming Classics, and despite being new to the squad he praised how well the riders were already working together.

“Races like this are mental games. I want to be successful but it’s just great to get support like this from the team,” he said. “For me that’s crucial because in the end you are winning these races also in your head and of course you can also lose it.

“It was great that the team just kept believing in me, even after I didn’t feel super great after that sandstorm. It was amazing.”

Around halfway into the 200-kilometre flat stage through the desert plains of the Emirates state, the riders were caught in crosswinds and a sandstorm – something Degenkolb described as “super dangerous”. Such were the conditions the peloton decided to stop racing.

Watch: complete guide to the Dubai Tour, Tour of Oman, and the Abu Dhabi Tour

“I think the conditions were on the limit or over the limit,” Degenkolb continued. “I wish we could have avoided a situation like this. I understand the organisers and the jury - that in a moment like this when you have the sandstorm there is not so much you can do - but you have to think about these kind of things before.

“We agreed together that we’d just ride easy because it was super dangerous. There were sand dunes on the road, and if you are a little bit more in the back then you had no possibility to avoid a crash.”

Although Degenkolb explained the riders asked the commissaires to neutralize the stage, by the time they did so they were refused and told the weather was due to improve in the next few kilometres – which it did.

“It was already too late because then basically it was over, so then the conditions were getting better and better again,” he said.

>>> UCI's extreme weather protocols still unclear, says Giro d'Italia boss

Race leader Marcel Kittel reiterated that better protocols are needed to ensure riders are safe during what he called “really extreme” weather conditions.

“That’s our problem in cycling, there is nobody, there’s not even like rules for it,” Kittel said. “What’s the rules for such a stage; it’s very difficult so the CPA, UCI, they have to keep on working to put that in the [rules].”

Kittel, who finished the stage with a cut above his left eye after being punched by Astana’s Andriy Grivko, continued: “I think it was a good choice what we did as a group also trying to talk to the race directors.

“It’s always a difficult decision, you don’t want to cancel a stage like this but we waited for better weather so that gave us the chance to take no risk and it also gives the race the chance to go for the final to satisfy the sponsors I think that’s also important.”

Trek-Segafredo's star signings Alberto Contador and John Degenkolb have been showing off their new 2017 team kit, with a simultaneous unveiling at the team's training camp in Mallorca and in Australia ahead of the Tour Down Under.

After last season's white-and-black kit, this year's is distinctly more red, with a red top half of the jersey matched to the squad's trademark pin-striped lower section. The red matches the bold red paintwork of the team's Trek bicycles.

Contador signed to Trek-Segafredo for 2017 after the disbanding of the Tinkoff team, and will head up the American WorldTour squad's assault on the Tour de France in July.

Earlier this week, Contador told Spanish radio station Cadena SER: "I’m preparing with the thought of winning the Tour. If you want to win, you have to see it and believe that you can win.

>>> Alberto Contador: ‘Oleg Tinkov has a lot of money but didn’t know how to manage a team’

“I would not sign up for anything less than winning the Tour."

Degenkolb moved to the team for 2017 from Giant-Alpecin. He posted a photo of himself wearing the new Trek kit on Twitter on Friday morning.

The photo showed that Degenkolb is still strapping the finger that he nearly lost last January when six members of Giant-Alpecin were injured when a car ploughed into them on a training ride in Spain. Degenkolb had an operation in November to have the plates removed from his finger.

The incident meant that Degenkolb could not defend his 2015 Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix wins, but he is hoping to bounce back for 2017 with his new team.

Speaking in December, Degenkolb said: "The biggest lesson from last year is that I have to listen to my body even more than before. In a way, the experience has made me a more professional rider: I try to do every exercise 100 per cent, and really concentrate on the important things, in cycling and in life.

"Of course, it was a great disappointment not to be able to defend my Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix titles, but that only makes me more motivated to ride them again. I want to start them wearing number one - maybe next year."

>>> Tour Down Under 2017: Latest news, info and reports

The team's first outing in the 2017 WorldTour will be at the Tour Down Under in Australia, running from January 17-22.

Several new professional cycling stars broke through in the 2016 season, with some more established ones finding new form and motivation to take some big victories.

>>> 100 Best Road Riders of 2016

We've rounded-up 10 names who we think will make an impact during the 2017 race season: some are well established names who are switching to a new team and are looking to make their mark, and others are fresh-faced riders who've been given a chance to shine in the WorldTour.

Alberto Contador

Trek-Segafredo, Spain

The 33-year-old 'Pistolero' appeared ready to retire at one point, but then found new motivation in changing teams for one last try at winning a fourth Tour de France title.

>>> 100 Best Road Riders of 2016: 21-30

"The Tour is the goal, the Tour is the goal," he said, repeating it to underline his intention.

It would be Alberto Contador's comeback after abandoning to crashes in 2016, suffering in 2015 after winning the Giro d'Italia and breaking his tibia in the 2014 edition. Trek-Segafredo could provide the needed stimulus after six years in Tinkoff.

"The objectives will be clearer in the different races," he said. "A good programme so that the team is 100 per cent at the Tour."

John Degenkolb

Trek-Segafredo, Germany

Trek-Segafredo also signed John Degenkolb, from Giant-Alpecin, to lead the classics team. His challenge will be to reach the top again after a British driver wiped out team Giant in an early season training incident.

The German, winner of both Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in 2015, suffered a fractured forearm, nearly lost his finger and of course, missed the spring classics. He completed the Tour and showed he is back on track with an Arctic Race of Norway stage win, his first victory in 11 months.

"I'm happy it's now behind me," he said. "I was always fighting to make up the disadvantage. I'm looking forward to a regular training schedule again."

Ben Swift

TJ-Lampre, Great Britain

Team Sky sprinter Ben Swift flew the coop after seven years, since the team debuted in 2010, for a chance to spread his wings fully. He is the first and only of the Sky Brits to leave for a better opportunity.

>>> 100 Best Road Riders of 2016: 91-100

TJ-Lampre should allow him plenty of opportunities from the early spring classics to grand tours. "[Team Sky] completely understood," he said. "I was presented with an opportunity I couldn't refuse."

The first goal: Milan-San Remo. Swift wants to turn his second and third place in the Italian classic into wins. Giuseppe Saronni, winner in 1983, may provide the magic touch to do so.

Filippo Ganna

TJ-Lampre, Italy

TJ-Lampre's Filippo Ganna could blossom already in his first professional year given his pedigree. This year at 19-years-old he made his mark with a individual pursuit win in the World Championships and the under-23 Paris-Roubaix victory.

Expect an early win in a short time trial, one like the Tour of Qatar – if TJ-Lampre take part. He would provide direct competition to another Italian, Adriano Malori, over the short distances. And of course, Paris-Roubaix. TJ-Lampre could give Ganna space in some of the smaller classics and perhaps the big one, just to whet his appetite.

Owain Doull

Team Sky, Great Britain

After a team pursuit gold in the Olympics and a trainee period with Sky, Owain Doull makes his official professional debut in 2017 with his home team. Doull, remember, went to see the 2010 team launch as a 16-year-old.

Now, his goal is to learn the professional road racing ways, develop and find his space. Bradley Wiggins says the he reminds him of a young Geraint Thomas because he is fast and can climb. Doull explained, "I'd like to focus on the classics to start with".

Hugh Carthy

Cannondale-Drapac, Great Britain

For 2017, the Englishman takes a jump from Caja Rural-Seguros RGA to team Cannondale-Drapac.

"In my opinion, probably the best young stage-racing talent out of the UK," said Cannondale General Manager Jonathan Vaughters. "I think he's got a big future in three-week races, and we want to help him develop into the best rider he can be."

Carthy raced his first grand tour in the Vuelta this summer. It followed a successful 2016 campaign with the Spanish team Caja Rural team, winning the Vuelta a Asturias and placing ninth in the Volta a Catalunya. He had support, but in Cannondale-Drapac it will be taken to another level.

Robert Power

Orica-BikeExchange, Australia

The Australian won one of the biggest amateur stage races, the 2015 Giro della Valle d'Aosta, but a rare bone marrow disease put his professional debut on hold this year.

Insiders still consider him one of the biggest stage race promises from Australia in a long time. He began with Orica-BikeExchange towards the end of this summer, but 2017 will be the first chance for him to show what he is capable of in the professional ranks.

Adam and Simon Yates, and Esteban Chaves dominate the team's stage race stable, but their experience should rub off on Power. If all goes well, Power could pull off an early one-day win and a top-10 in an HC-ranked stage race.

Miguel Angel Lopez

Astana, Colombia

'Superman' already made his mark with an impressive Tour de Suisse win at 22-years-old this summer. The win confirmed the talent he showed when he won the 2014 Tour de l'Avenir.

>>> 100 Best Road Riders of 2016: 41-50

Astana took him to his first grand tour, the Vuelta a España, but he fell on his face and broke three teeth. He continued, but had to pull the plug after one week. Bad luck continued this off-season when he broke his tibia.

What is clear: he has talent. Astana will support Fabio Aru in Giro d'Italia, but Lopez will go for other stage races and the Tour de France.

Emanuel Buchmann

Bora-Hansgrohe, Germany

The German rode to an amazing 21st overall in the Tour de France with team Bora-Argon 18 this summer. It underlined what the German team had been thinking, that this is one of the country's best stage race talents since Jan Ullrich.

"He's the most talented German GC guy," General Manager Ralph Denk said. "He's young, 24, but one year ago he was the national champion and then the Tour. He has a great future ahead of him. It's my goal to develop him."

Denk promised that when Sagan's not leading the team, others like Buchmann will have their chance.

Rubén Fernández

Movistar, Spain

Movistar put its faith into Rubén Fernández with a new three-year deal this autumn. It had reason to, he won the 2013 Tour de l'Avenir and this year, wore the leader's jersey and was one of Nairo Quintana's strongest climbing domestiques in the Vuelta.

The 25-year-old could be leading on his own soon as he is tapped as Spain's next grand tour star after Contador. This year, he placed sixth in the Tour Down Under, the Tour of Poland and the Vuelta a Burgos.

Movistar said, "He's one of the best climbers and future stars of Spanish cycling." This month, however, he suffered a setback with when he broke his jaw while training.

John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) has taken his first one-day race win since a horrific training incident in January, winning the Münsterland Giro in Germany on Monday.

Degenkolb was one of six Giant-Alpecin riders who were hit by a car on a training ride in Calpe, Spain, in January. He nearly lost a finger in the incident, and only returned to racing in April.

The injury and loss of training meant that Degenkolb could not defend his 2015 Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix titles.

The 27-year-old German sprinted ahead of Belgian Roy Jans (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) to take the Münsterland Giro victory. The race is ranked 1.HC by the UCI, and runs over 214 kilometres.

>>> Trek-Segafredo confirm signing of John Degenkolb in a game of Twitter Guess Who

“There was perfect team spirit today and I am delighted with the victory," said Degenkolb after the race. "It is really great to win in my home country. The team worked very hard throughout the whole race and gave me a great lead-out.

"We reacted well on the late attacks in the finale. For the sprint I had the right position and could come through at the right moment, so that was fantastic."

It's Degenkolb's second win of the season after he took a stage victory in the Arctic Race of Norway in August, also finishing the race with the points classification jersey.

Degenkolb has been named in Germany's squad for the 2016 UCI Road World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in mid-October where he will line up for the road race with fellow sprinter Marcel Kittel.

Degenkolb will leave Giant-Alpecin at the end of the 2016 season and will join American WorldTour team Trek-Segafredo.

Giant-Alpecin's John Degenkolb's return to his pre-eminence continued on Thursday as he claimed his first top-three finish in 2016 by finishing second on stage one of the Arctic Tour of Norway, behind winner Alexander Kristoff (Katusha).

Degenkolb was one of six Giant-Alpecin riders injured in a January training crash near Calpe, Spain and didn't begin his season until May.

The 2015 Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix winner completed the Tour de France, placing fourth on two stages, and on the opening stage of the Arctic Tour he sprinted to second; Sky's Danny van Poppel, winner of two stages in last week's Vuelta a Burgos, was third.

The last time Degenkolb featured in the top three of a race was when he won the final stage of last year's Vuelta a España. 

While the result is another positive step in Degenkolb's long return to form, it is also a boost for Kristoff who failed to win a stage at the Tour and whose last victory was in May's Amgen Tour of California.

It was the fourth stage that Kristoff has taken in the race that is now in its fourth edition, having won a stage last year and two in 2014.

The Arctic Tour of Norway, in its fourth edition, finishes on Sunday with stages tailored towards a sprint on stage two and four. Sky's Ben Swift and Andy Fenn are Britain's best chances of a stage win, although One Pro Cycling could pull off a surprise win with either Kristian House or Chris Opie.

The Tour de France sprinters say that it is going to be tough to survive the final two mountain days in the Alps and to arrive in Paris for the sprint on Sunday.

The whirling of turbo trainers filled the air before the short and explosive 146-kilometre stage 19 to the Le Bettex summit finish on Mont Blanc. Not only the classification men, but the sprinters were warming their legs for the stage ahead.

Saturday's stage 20 appears just as tricky. The 20th stage, 146.5 kilomtres, starts with a Col des Aravis.

"Today and tomorrow are going to be tough," Daniel McLay (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) told Cycling Weekly on Friday. "There's no point being too worried about it [time cut] you can only do what you can do. It's going to be difficult.

"Today, it's just doing the first climb fast enough that you just get back to the group when the break goes and they sit up. After that trying not to be dropped before the gruppetto. It's easier said than done for me at the moment."

John Degenkolb was worried at the start in Albertville. The German winner of last year’s Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix went to his team staff immediately after stepping off the bus to find out what percentage the organiser would use to day to calculate the time cut.

"The most important thing is that you don't blow up in the beginning and try to follow the best guys," Degenkolb said.

"Do your own speed. If you are dropped, you're dropped. But you are still with a group of other guys with the same level, and you have to try to hope that they are stopping in front for a pee break and you can come back.

"For us, if you are around 80kg, it's 300 watts, maybe 350 if we are in trouble. We are basically losing one minute for every kilometre. That's how we calculate it. All the kilometres where you are going uphill, we lose one minute each kilometre, so in the descent we have to make time up and take a lot of risks."

The Col de Joux Plane - stage 20's monster climb

André Greipel's lead-out man, Greg Henderson said: "The problem is what they do with these short stages – they're 145 kilometres so your time cut's not that long because the stage is so short.

"Yeah [it worries me], for me to go out and train on this today would be beautiful, I'd enjoy it, but the simple fact I've got to do it in a certain time, you're not sure if you're fast enough."

Henderson looked over to the Orica-BikeExchange bus and added, "That makes you nervous when you see a whole team warming up."

Only one big sprinter-type, Bernhard Eisel, appeared to be relaxed in the Savoie valley. He leaned against the Dimension Data team bus, drank an espresso and chatted away to waiting journalists and team staff. As he said, the Tour has become much less busier for him since Mark Cavendish left.

"I'd say the Tour de France has the fairest time delay," Eisel said. "Still, if you have a bad day or a crash, you manage to make it through. If you don't make it, then it is better you go home. In other races, the delay's like an hour and you can walk home!

"Some people come back to the gruppetto to have an easy day and then make our lives hard. There are always arguments, it's just natural. If someone is having a bad day and we are going too fast or if someone is low on blood sugar and needs a snicker. Cavendish was never in danger this year, just on the Tourmalet. It's not our favourite climb."

John Degenkolb has confirmed that he will be leaving Giant-Alpecin at the end of the 2016 season, with two teams reportedly in negotiations for the rider's signature.

The German has been subject of strong rumours linking him to Trek-Segafredo in 2017 to head up their Classics team after Fabian Cancellara retires, having won both Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in his time with Giant.

>>> Alberto Contador to join Trek-Segafredo in 2017, say sources

The 27-year-old has also taken 11 Grand Tour stage wins since joining the team after HTC folded in 2012, and came to the decision to leave after protracted talks with Giant's bosses.

"This has been a tough decision," Degenkolb said in a statement released by his agent on Friday, "but it has been a thorough and deliberate process to be sure we end up in the best possible situation."

Watch: A day in the life at Giant-Alpecin

Degenkolb has only just worked his way back to full fitness, as he currently takes part in the Tour de France, having suffered serious injuries including a severed finger in a training ride collision with an on-coming car in January this year.

But despite not having appeared much this season, two teams appear to be in line to fight for his signature next season, with the deal set to be finalised by the end of the Tour.

"We have narrowed negotiations to two teams for next year and beyond," the statement continued.

"My next contract will be about much more than money. Besides considering the best team fit, it will also be about image rights, my protection as a sportsman, and other details which have not historically been part of rider contract negotiations."

No official announcement will be made until at least August 1, as per the UCI rules regarding transfers of riders.

The countdown to the 2016 Tour de France is almost over and the teams are ready to fight hard for the next three weeks.

In order to win stages and potentially placing some riders high in the GC, Giant-Alpecin concentrated on three different aspects to give its best at the next Grande Boucle: aerodynamics, safety and overnight recovery.

Already tested last year – and according to Giant-Alpecin having had good feedback from riders – protective fibre Dyneema (developed along with brand Etxeondo) has been improved and used also in the aero jersey. The new material is claimed to be more stretchy and less thick.

>>> Tour de France 2016 route and essential guide

Giant-Alpecin’s technical R&D expert Tom Davids said: “We managed to incorporate the protective fibre into our aero jersey.

"Our technological challenge was to keep the same level of comfort, because the Dyneema fibre is extremely tough – it’s normally used as bullet protection.

>>> Giant-Alpecin reveal new white kit for the Tour de France

"The aero jersey offers protection to the shoulder area, one of the most vulnerable areas for cyclists, and will be used when they need it the most: during the flat stages where speeds are sometimes up to 70 km/h as riders fight for position in the final kilometres.”

According to Alpecin’s coach Adriaan Helmanten, the protective fabric used in the shorts and the jerseys will help to reduce the wounds and the injuries sustained in crashes.

>>> Steven Kruijsvijk crashes in the snow at 2015 Giro d'Italia (video)

A further tech development that will be used by Giant-Alpecin’s riders will be the new Pursuit helmet, a products conceived both for the hot days of July (with specific ventilation features) and optimal aerodynamics.

But the time-gaining process also goes through marginal gains (which can mean the diffeence between success or the defeat in time trials) and futuristic techniques, like laser test combined to helium-filled soap bubbles used to develop the team’s skin suit.

>>> Is it necessary to buy an expensive skin suit?

“We wind tunnel tested different types of fabrics with different structures to understand why one suit is faster than another and to determine what fabrics should be placed on which parts of the body for optimal results.”, scientist Teun van Erp explained.

He added, “we used the unique PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) technique, which is only available at TU Delft [Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands, with whom the team started to work in 2015].

"This technique allows us to record and analyse the airflow by the use of helium-filled soap bubbles, laser technology and special software. We need soap bubbles and a laser to make the airflow visible and apply helium to let the bubbles drift, because the molecules in soap are heavier than air and would otherwise drop.”

Last but not least, as the overnight recovery is a crucial part of the recovery process along the more than 3,000km of the Tour de France, Giant-Alpecin also partnered with the high-quality mattress brand Auping, and each rider will be sleeping on a mattress tailored to his particular body, which were scanned in order to fit the mattress to the body.

>>> Could compression clothing benefit your recovery?

“Rest and recovery,” Helmantel says, “are crucial for all human beings and especially for athletes tackling the toughest stage race in professional cycling.

"Making sure they get a good night’s sleep after the hard stages will obviously result in better performance the following day.”

The partnership Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) is focused on innovation improvement and the first projects started in 2015.

One of the projects developed between Giant-Alpecin and TU Delft is the “sensorbike”, a sensor that traces the rider’s movement and enables the team to analyse his descent and improve his descending and cornering skills.

The other aspects that Giant-Alpecin and TU Delft are developing together are data analyses applied to cycling, optimisation of power distribution and aerodynamics

John Degenkolb, Tom Dumoulin and Warren Barguil have all been selected as part of Giant-Alpecin's nine-man roster for the 2016 Tour de France, which starts on Saturday, July 2.

German Degenkolb has staged a remarkable recovering after nearly losing a finger in a training incident in January, when a car ploughed into a group of Giant-Alpecin riders in Spain.

Degenkolb will be the team's option for sprint and hilly stages, where he will come up against riders such as former team-mate Marcel Kittel, Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan and Alexander Kristoff.

Dutchman Dumoulin will receive a great deal of attention during the race on the back of his performance in the Vuelta a España last year and Giro d'Italia in May. He won the opening time trial in the Giro and wore the leader's jersey for two spells before abandoning the race on stage 11.

Having just secured the Dutch national time trial title, Dumoulin will be one of the leading favourites in the race's stages against the clock. Both he and the team have stressed that he won't be going for the overall, but looking at stage wins as he focuses on the Olympic Games.

>>> Tour de France 2016: Latest news, reports and info

Warren Barguil returns for his second outing in his home Grand Tour. The double 2013 Vuelta stage winner placed 14th overall last year and is looking to see how much further up the general classification he can climb. A third place overall at the Tour de Suisse last week shows he's on good form.

Few can forget Simon Geschke's emotional stage win at last year's Tour, and he returns this season for his fourth outing in the race.

The roster for the German WorldTour team is completed with Laurens ten Dam, Georg Preidler, Roy Curvers, Ramon Sinkeldam and Albert Timmer.

“Our goals will be to go for a stage victory, as we see several opportunities to achieve that, and also to explore our possibilities in the GC with Warren," said Giant-Alpecin coach Aike Visbeek.

"We have made a long-term plan with him, aiming to develop his general classification performance over the next few years. This will be his second appearance in his home Grand Tour, and we believe a top-15 is again a realistic target for him.

"We have a great blend of experience and youth in our lineup. This year’s Tour de France offers more opportunities in the mountains, with some tough stages, and we took that into consideration when we made our final selection."

The 2016 Tour de France starts in Mont-Saint-Michel on Saturday, July 2, and finishes in Paris on Sunday, July 24. British rider Chris Froome (Sky) returns as defending champion.

Giant-Alpecin Tour de France 2016 team

Warren Barguil (Fra)

Roy Curvers (Ned)

Laurens Ten Dam (Ned)

John Degenkolb (Ger)

Tom Dumoulin (Ned)

Simon Geschke (Ger)

Georg Preidler (Aut)

Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned)

Albert Timmer (Ned)

Giant-Alpecin frontman John Degenkolb has raced less than 10 days this season but is determined to make Tour de France selection in what is a contract year for the champion sprinter linked to Trek-Segafredo for 2017.

Up until last month, the 27-year-old was sidelined from competition following a horrific January team training camp crash with a motorist, which he is still handicapped from.

Misfortune has not appeared to impact Degenkolb's market value. He has solicited interest from multiple teams including current stable Giant-Alpecin, whom he rose to prominence with.

“Nothing is decided yet and we still are in talks, but also talks in my current team. I have to say I’m not unhappy in this team here so still everything is possible,” Degenkolb told Cycling Weekly.

>>> John Degenkolb to Trek-Segafredo 'a done deal'

Giant-Alpecin set an uncompromising selection standard last year when it opted not to take its marquee sprinter Marcel Kittel to the race. The eight-time Tour stage winner, whose season was heavily disrupted due to a virus, had missed less racing then than Degenkolb has now.

Degenkolb was recently named on a Tour team long-list and has said selection is not yet off the table as he continues his comeback at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

“Absolutely I want to go to the Tour,” he said. “It was, from the accident, my goal to come back to the Tour and hopefully win a stage there.”

Degenkolb said he has spoken to team management about competing at the race, which would serve as his third this season after the Tour of California and the Dauphiné.

“We have had conversations about this and they’ve given me the signal that they’re also willing to take me to the Tour,” he said. “We’re still trying to stick to the plan and I hope that there’s no change to the Tour. The plan was to go for sprint stages in the Tour and so far everything looks fine from my side, and I hope also from the team’s side.”

The former Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix champion has been improving at the Dauphine and finished eighth in a bunch sprint at the end of stage four on Thursday, which Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) won.

“I feel I’m not on the highest level to compete on WorldTour 100 per cent so it’s just a matter of patience. We have to stay calm now and wait. This week will be really important to go towards the Tour de France, and then we will see,” he said.

>>> John Degenkolb describes the extent of his injuries after Giant-Alpecin training crash

“When you see from how many race days I have now, I mean, I have 10 race days in my legs and the others have minimum 40. There’s a big difference and you can also feel that.

“The level is pretty high here this week, much more than I expected actually. Everybody wants to go to the Tour so that’s why. The difference between California and here is pretty huge, the ground speed is just much higher on the climbs.”

Watch: John Degenkolb's Tour de France bike

The German almost completely severed his left index finger in the January crash and is still wearing a brace as the bone heals.

“I have no pain, it’s just a different way of handling the bike,” he said. “I’m only using four fingers basically to hold my handlebar, to pull on the handlebar, to pull in the sprint and that’s the difference. The process to adapt new skills is not finished.”

John Degenkolb, winner of last year's Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, will take the place of Fabian Cancellara in the Classics riding for Trek-Segafredo in 2017, according an insider.

The German rides with home WorldTour team Giant-Alpecin currently. Cycling Weekly learned from an source with knowledge of the situation that Degenkolb was shopping for a new team and has now stopped negotiating. Neither Giant-Alpecin nor Etixx-Quick Step were able to secure his 2017 signature.

German professional continental team Bora-Argon 18 considered signing him in its push for the WorldTour, but manager Ralph Denk ruled out that possibility today. He said, “He’s not riding with us, it’s not possible for 2017.”

Trek-Segafredo need a rider to replace Classics star Cancellara. The Swiss, winner of three editions of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, retires at the end of this season.

John Degenkolb's Giant Propel from the 2015 Tour de France

The American WorldTour team are unable to confirm Degenkolb's transfer until August 1, as per the UCI rules regarding transfers, but in this period from the Giro d'Italia to the Tour de France in July, agents are shopping their cyclists.

"We are looking closely at the market with attention because we have to have a competitive team for 2017," the team's general manager, Luca Guercilena said.

"We need to look at what's possible and give it time. [Degenkolb is] strong and will be good for the classics, he'd be important for any team."

Etixx-Quick Step reportedly wanted Degenkolb to reinforce their Classics team with Tom Boonen nearing the end of his career. They could still sign Peter Sagan, who has not signed for Astana despite reports otherwise on Tuesday.

Without Degenkolb, Giant-Alpecin can focus completely on Tom Dumoulin for the Grand Tours in 2017. They will also have more money in its budget available to sign another star.

Degenkolb is still struggling to come up to full speed after being hit head on by a car, along with five of his team-mates, during a training ride in Spain this January.

The British woman who collided with six Giant-Alpecin cyclists in training this winter in Alicante, Spain, has been formally charged by local police. The German team of John Degenkolb and the Guardia Civil police are listed in the case.

The unnamed 73-year-old drove head-on into Degenkolb, winner of last year's Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, and five of his Giant-Alpecin teammates on January 23 near Alicante, Spain.

The German sprinter suffered a fractured forearm and nearly lost his left index finger. American Chad Haga fractured his eye socket, Max Walscheid his tibia and thumb.

"We all could have died," said Frenchman Warren Barguil, who broke his left scaphoid. Teammates Fredrik Ludvigsson and Ramon Sinkeldam were also involved.

Only Søren Kragh Andersen escaped being hit by the car being driven down the opposite lane towards the cyclists.

Watch: A day in the life of Giant-Alpecin

"The Court of Instruction Number 1 of Dénia has opened an injuries case for the crime of recklessness," read a statement received by Cycling Weekly. "The case centres on the driver of the vehicle as investigated (formerly charged). The court is awaiting forensic reports."

Cycling Weekly understands both the Guardia Civil police and Giant-Alpecin are listed in the case against the woman. Police explained at the time that she lives six months of the year in Spain and six months at home in Great Britain.

She crossed from the opposite side of the CV-720 provincial road leading to Alicante, near Benigembla, and collided with the group of cyclists returning from a training ride. She was driving a British-style car with the steering wheel on the right side, according to someone working on the investigation.

The police released and charged her with imprudence and recklessness, charges formalised today.

Degenkolb is only able to start his season this May 1 in Germany's Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt. Walscheid has yet to announce his return date. Haga, Barguil, Ludvigsson and Sinkeldam have all began racing again.

After being forced to watch the first half of the season on television, John Degenkolb will return to the peloton on May 1 in Germany.

The Giant-Alpecin sprinter, who nearly lost a finger in a collision with a car at a January training camp, will line up at the Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt.

Degenkolb's injuries meant he was unable to defend his Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix titles this spring, but the 27-year-old is raring to go in his home country.

“First of all, I am really happy to pin my race number on again and to be at the starting line. It’s my home race on Sunday which makes it even more special for me. I am really thankful to all the people who have supported me and who have made it possible for me to race again.," he said.

John Degenkolb's Giant Propel Advanced

Having not raced since the World Championships in September, Degenkolb isn't expecting to be in contention in Sunday's race.

>>> John Degenkolb hopes to learn from watching Classics on TV ahead of May return

The course will see riders tackle the Mammolshainer Berg four times, which hits 26 per cent in places, before entering the finishing circuit in Frankfurt.

“I am certainly not here to aim for the win. The goal is to get back the feeling of riding in the peloton again and of course this is my first test on competition ground since January," Degenkolb added.

"Let’s not forget what I have been through the last few months and keep it all in perspective. For Sunday, I hope I can finish the race in a good way.”

John Degenkolb will have to settle for watching this Sunday's Paris-Roubaix on TV, as the 2015 champion continues his recovery from the training crash in January that left him and five Giant-Alpecin teammates nursing severe injuries.

Degenkolb came off by far the worst of the six, suffering injuries to his thigh, forearm and lip, with a finger on his left hand virtually severed, requiring an operation by a specialist surgeon to save it.

Following the crash, the German sprinter resigned himself to missing the entire Classics season, posting on his Facebook page in February that the damaged finger on his left hand was taking the longest to heal, but Degenkolb sounded optimistic about the rest of his season at a press conference on Friday.

>>> How does John Degenkolb’s injury affect Giant-Alpecin’s season goals?

"I hope to return in May," Degenkolb said, "but there is still much work to be done."

He added: "I'm glad I got back on my bike. I can set goals again, work towards a good condition, but there is still a long way to go. If you are off the bike for a long time, you have to build that condition from scratch."

Degenkolb had the last of five operations just six weeks ago as he continues his slow return to full fitness but, despite clearly being keen to get back to competitive cycling, the German understands he has to take things one step at a time.

>>> Paris-Roubaix live TV guide

"I have five operations behind me and the finger requires a lot of rehabilitation," he said. "The nerves are affected. My co-ordination on the bike is not quite right. Braking, changing gear, it is not easy. This requires more time.

"I feel safe on the bike, I have no fear, but at the moment I do not feel ready to get back in the peloton. The risk would be too great because my coordination is just not good enough. Once that feeling is back, I think I can return."

Degenkolb confessed that missing the Classics season was a bitter pill to swallow, especially considering he was injured in such unfortunate circumstances, but is determined to take the positives from the situation.

>>> ‘John Degenkolb must think of his health before his career’

Degenkolb hopes he can see the race from a different perspective when he watches Paris-Roubaix on TV this Sunday ahead of an attempt at winning a stage at the Tour de France - the only Grand Tour in which he hasn't won a stage - in July this year.

"In the beginning, it was hard to accept [missing the Classics]," Degenkolb said. "I have watched all the Classics on television and that's quite interesting, you always see things you can learn something from. I have now set new targets."

John Degenkolb has marked the month of May in his calendar as his potential return to racing after a head-on collision with a car in January left him with a broken arm and severed finger.

Despite the lengthy layoff and severe injuries, Degenkolb is confident he will return to the level he was at before the crash, which saw him win both Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in 2015.

With the Tour de France still several months away in July, the Giant-Alpecin sprinter is targeting something that has so far eluded him in his career - a stage win in the Grand Boucle.

"We can't promise anything at the moment, but if the training goes well, I will probably be able to race again in the next 8 to 10 weeks," Degenkolb said at a press conference in Germany.

"I am eager to be back on my bike as quick as possible. From now, the Tour de France is still three and a half months away and it will be my main target to win a stage there. I believe that I can reach the same level again I had before the accident."

Degenkolb and five other teammates were involved in the crash, when a car, driven by a British driver on the wrong side of the road, hit them head on in Calpe, Spain.

While Frederik Ludvigsson and Ramon Sinkeldam have returned to racing, Degenkolb, Warren Barguil, Chad Haga and Max Walscheid still remain sidelined.

But the incident hasn't dampened Degenkolb's love of racing, with the German revealing that he is starting training again this week.

"The accident was a big shock and I will still need time to recover. At the moment, I am feeling okay and the rehabilitation is going really well. I am very motivated in racing again and I will start my training this week," he said.

"I would like to thank my family and my team for their great support in these difficult times. As you all know, I am a very active person and I was happy that I could count on them in this situation."

Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel locked horns for the first time in 2016 at the Volta ao Algarve to start what is likely to be a season-long battle for dominance.

For the majority of the sprinters in the peloton, the season will be building up to one thing - the flat, fast course at the World Championships in Qatar this October.

While many countries will already have their chosen their designated sprinter - Mark Cavendish is very likely to lead Great Britain - a country like Germany has a wealth of talent at its disposal, so one or more riders will be left disappointed.

Kittel and Greipel are the two obvious options for the Qatar race, but Giant-Alpecin's John Degenkolb could also be in the frame, especially as his spring Classics hopes have been dashed.

While Degenkolb recovers from the injuries suffered in a collision with a car at a training camp, Kittel and Greipel have a head start and will likely butt heads many times this spring.

With one more sprint stage to contest in the Algarve, Kittel leads the season series by one win to nil, with the pair scheduled to face off at Paris-Nice at the start of March as well.

Greipel took first blood in the wins count this season, though, claiming two wins at Challenge Mallorca in late January, with Kittel matching and bettering that at the Dubai Tour, winning two stages and the overall title.

Greipel's early season is quite different to Kittel's, with hulking German a key part of Lotto-Soudal's cobbled Classics team, playing a support role to the likes of Jurgen Roelandts and Tiesj Benoot.

Kittel, meanwhile, only really races to win, rather than playing the domestique role, which could cause a few tensions if Greipel is chosen to lead Germany at the Worlds.

Either sprinter would be a great leadout man for the other, and adding Degenkolb to the mix would leave Germany with an enviable team.

With both Kittel and Greipel likely to ride the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France this season, it could come down to which rider wins the most races.

If I were to make a prediction this early in the season, I'd say Kittel has the edge over Greipel thanks to the dominance of his wins so far. He's rediscovered his top end speed and has looked unbeatable when he's in position to contest the sprint.

But if Greipel can repeat his four stage wins at the Tour de France in July he could get the nod. With the Worlds coming very late in the calendar this year, there's a long time between the end of the Tour and the championships, which leaves the whole debate up in the air once more.

John Degenkolb has said that it is 'very likely' that he will completely miss the 2016 spring classics season as he continues his rehabilitation from a horrific training incident in January.

Writing on his Facebook page, the 27-year-old German said that his finger is taking the longest to heal, although the injury to his thigh is healing well.

"The damaged finger is the most serious injury," Degenkolb wrote. "The medical care here in Hamburg is at a very high level. I am really very happy with the service. Nevertheless, the consequence is that I am not very likely to make the start in the classics."

Degenkolb posted a photo of himself back on a turbo trainer for the first time since the incident on January 23, although he was obviously being highly cautious with his still-bandaged left hand.

He wrote that although his injuries are healing swiftly, his lack of training and condition would hamper his prospects in the spring races. Now, he is just looking forward to returning to competition this year when all is healed and he is back in race shape.

Degenkolb was one of six Giant-Alpecin riders hit by a car when it collided with the team during a training ride in Calpe, Spain. He suffered injuries to his thigh, forearm, lip and a finger on his left hand was virtually severed, requiring an operation by a specialist surgeon.

A 73-year-old British woman was charged with imprudence and reckless driving by Alicante police after the incident.

Along with Degenkolb, Giant-Alpecin riders Warren Barguil, Chad Haga, Fredrik Ludvigsson, Ramon Sinkeldam and Max Walscheid were also injured.

Team Sky's head Classics sports director and former Paris-Roubaix winner, Servais Knaven says that John Degenkolb must first think about his health before returning to this spring's classics.

German Degenkolb and five of his Giant-Alpecin team-mates were involved in a collision with a car on Saturday near Alicante, Spain. Degenkolb, who remains hospitalised in Valencia, suffered a fractured forearm and nearly lost his left index finger.

>>> 73-year-old British woman charged for Giant-Alpecin road crash

"Of course the classics were a major goal of his, so it is going to hurt to miss them," Knaven told Cycling Weekly.

"If I were him and his team, I would not set many goals for the moment, first wait and see how much pain he has when he is able to ride again. Keeping in mind that riding on the cobbles is very different from the smooth roads.

"It's hard to say if he is going to be ruled out of the Classics. I don't know how long his recovery will take and how much training he could do in the next months. It's really the least of his concerns right now, the most important thing is that he thinks about his health and recovering."

Renowned plastic surgeon Pedro Cavadas worked to ensure that Degenkolb kept his finger after the crash. He estimated that last year's Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix winner will need three months to recover, which would rule him out of the Classics completely.

Giant is reeling after the incident with its thoughts first on the six cyclists' health. Along with Degenkolb, American Chad Haga is still hospitalised and faces surgery on a fractured eye socket.

>>> Chad Haga continues to make light of his Giant-Alpecin crash injuries on Twitter

Warren Barguil, Fredrik Ludvigsson, Ramon Sinkeldam and Max Walscheid were able to return home, but must think about healing before racing.

"For his sake and for cycling's, I hope he is back soon," added Knaven.

"An advantage is that these men are athletes and in my experience, athletes heal quicker. The faster he is back on his bike, the better it will be for his racing chances. It will also depend at what level he was beforehand. Of course, he would not be as strong as last year in the Classics if he were to return this spring.”

A 73-year-old British woman was driving the car, which had a right-hand side steering wheel. Police said she lives six months of the year in Spain, a country popular with Brits in the winter.

"We had a similar thing happen to the Sky team two to three years ago in Majorca," Knaven said.

"We were lucky as our riders were able to move in time. The driver, a Brit, was in shock and apologised over and over afterwards."

John Degenkolb will be out of competition for three months, says the doctor that operated on him following a head-on incident with a car.

The prognosis means that Giant-Alpecin's German star will effectively miss a shot of defending his Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix titles this spring.

A British woman drove into him and five team-mates head-on in training on Saturday near Alicante. Degenkolb and American Chad Haga remain hospitalised.

Degenkolb was luckly to be close to Valencia, where Doctor Pedro Cavadas works. Cavadas specialises in plastic surgery and was the first to perform a double leg transplant.

Cavadas operated on Degenkolb for three hours after the crash to save his left index finger. He said that Degenkolb's recovery "is going well" and that he can return to competition but "in theory, he will need three months" to do so.

The window of recovery, through April 23, estimated by Cavadas would exclude Degenkolb from all the spring Classics.

If his rehabilitation goes well, team Giant could perhaps field him in the Giro d'Italia. The race, where he won a stage in 2013, could prepare him for what would have been his second season goal, the Tour de France.

Cavadas said, "It's not about returning to a normal life, his normal life is to compete at very high level" and so recovery time is "a little more than the normal recovery time" of other patients. Much, he added, depends on how the doctors take care of him when he returns to Germany.

Degenkolb is still in the hospital in Valencia, where he was transferred for the surgery on his finger. He also had surgery to repair a cut in his leg and a fractured forearm. The team said that he is due to travel home in "the next few days." It added that recover "will take time, but it's difficult to make an estimation at this point."

>>> John Degenkolb’s perfect Paris-Roubaix ride

The 27-year-old emerged in team HTC-Highroad with two stage wins in the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné. In 2012, he switched to his current team. Besides San Remo and Roubaix, he won 10 stages in the Vuelta a España, the Vattenfall Cyclassics, Ghent-Wevelgem and Paris-Tours.

American Haga underwent surgery to repair blood vessels and faces another for his fractured eye socket. The other cyclists Warren Barguil, Fredrik Ludvigsson, Ramon Sinkeldam and Max Walscheid are home, but need time to return to racing.

Local police said that the driver was a 73-year-old British woman who lives six months a year in Spain. She was driving a British-style car with steering wheel on the right-hand side. They would not release her name because of the ongoing investigation, but said that she will be charged imprudence and reckless driving.

Giant-Alpecin has released the details of the injuries sustained by its riders in the head-on crash suffered on Saturday in Calpe, Spain.

John Degenkolb wrote a message to his Facebook fans reporting that his finger was repaired following the crash, while Tour de France general classification rider Warren Barguil suffered a fractured wrist.

In total, six riders were injured in the incident, which reportedly occurred when a British national drove on the wrong side of the road towards the group of cyclists, hitting them head-on.

Frenchman Barguil, who finished 14th in the 2015 Tour, suffered a fractured scaphoid, which may require surgery.

Degenkolb, who won both Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, had successful surgery on wounds on his neck and chin, while an orbital fracture will be treated in the coming days.

The image in the above tweet shows the carnage of the incident, with one of the bikes seemingly shorn in half and others having bent wheels.

American rider Chad Haga was reportedly airlifted to hospital, where he underwent successful surgery on his neck and chin, but also suffered an orbital fracture.

>>> John Degenkolb describes the extent of his injuries after Giant-Alpecin training crash

Max Walscheid reportedly suffered fractures to the hand and tibia, which will likely require surgery, while both Ramon Sinkeldam and Frederik Ludvigsson both suffered scratches and bruises all over their bodies.

John Degenkolb has described the extent of the injuries he sustained when a car hit the Giant-Alpecin team when they were out training in Calpe, Spain, on Saturday afternoon.

The 27-year-old German said that he sustained injuries to his thigh, forearm, lip and one of his fingers suffered a deep laceration to the extent that it was virtually severed.

Degenkolb gave thanks for the many messages of support that he had received from fans and said via his Facebook page: "I'm all right, considering the circumstances."

>>> John Degenkolb among Giant-Alpecin riders seriously injured after training camp collision

According to the 2015 Paris-Roubaix and Milan-San Remo champion, he wrote the Facebook message while in an ambulance travelling to Valencia for specialist surgery to re-attach his finger.

"Now I'm in the ambulance heading to Valencia, where in a larger hospital my left index finger should be restored," Degenkolb said. "It's just hung on to the last corner of my hand."

Six of the team's riders were taken to hospital with injuries: Degenkolb, Warren Barguil, Chad Haga, Fredrik Ludvigsson, Ramon Sinkeldam and Max Walscheid. Haga was reportedly air-lifted to hospital after suffering serious injuries.

The Giant-Alpecin team issued a statement on Saturday evening, giving some more information on how the incident occurred: "During the training ride a car coming the other direction drove into the group of riders head on. The riders were riding side by side on their own side of the road."

Spanish media report that the driver was a British national.

>>> Rivals send support after Giant-Alpecin riders hospitalised in training crash

The cycling world has reacted with deep shock to the incident, with many professional riders, teams, fans and people in and out of the cycling industry offering messages of support to those affected.

Giant-Alpecin's John Degenkolb was the king of the early Classics in 2015, winning both Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in an impressive start to the season.

Degenkolb is now looking to add the Tour of Flanders to his palmares to complete the 'dream' triple.

The German stormed to victory in La Primavera, beating reigning champion Alexander Kristoff on the line in San Remo. Three weeks later Degenkolb rode the perfect race to hold off Zdenek Stybar and Greg Van Avermaet to win Paris Roubaix.

"It is my dream to win the 'triple'," Degenkolb told German paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "For this season the Classics again are my big goals.

"Milan-San Remo, Flanders and Roubaix. It would be great to have all three on my list."

Degenkolb came close to the triple last season, but had to settle for seventh place in Flanders, finishing 49 seconds down on the man he beat in San Remo, Kristoff.

John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) had to wait a long time for a Grand Tour stage win in 2015 but the German beat a depleted field in Madrid to seal his 10th Vuelta a España win.

Degenkolb looked to have gone too early in the final sprint but found a second wind to hold off Danny Van Poppel (Trek) and Jempy Drucker (BMC) on the line.

Fabio Aru (Astana) finished safely in the pack to win his first Grand Tour at only his fifth attempt.

After the traditional leisurely start to the stage, the real racing got going when the riders hit the circuit in Madrid.

First up came the intermediate sprint, which Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won. Green jersey incumbent Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) suffered a puncture before the sprint, meaning Valverde leapfrogged his fellow Spaniard in the classification.

A six-man breakaway was formed immediately after the sprint, with Omar Fraille - who has led the king of the mountains classification from start to finish - in its midst.

As the peloton gobbled up the futile breakaway, Etixx-Quick Step's Iljo Keisse went out on his own heading into the final laps. Keisse was soon passed by Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r La Mondiale), winner of stage 19, and Christian Knees (Team Sky) also tried his luck.

The stage was destined to end in a sprint, though, and with most of the pure sprinters abandoning the race when the high mountains set in, Degenkolb was favourite for the win.

His team set him up well and the German opened his sprint with 500m to go. Van Poppel looked to have the beating of him, but Degenkolb held on.

Degenkolb had recorded 11 top-10 finishes in Grand Tours this season before the final stage without notching up a win. The Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix winner rounded off his stage racing season with a bang and put himself in a good position for the upcoming World Championships

Vuelta a España stage 21, Alcalá Alcalá de Henares - Madrid (98.8km)

1. John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin, 2-34-13

2. Danny Van Poppel (Ned) Trek Factory Racing

3. Jempy Drucker (Lux) BMC

4. Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge

5. Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

6. Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Lampre-Merida

7. Nicolas Maes (Bel) Etixx-Quick Step

8. Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN-Qhubeka

9. Kevin Reza (Fra) FDJ

10. Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) LottoNL-Jumbo, all at same time

Overall classification after stage 21

1. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana in 85-36-13

2. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha at 56s

3. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo at 1-09

4. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar at 1-42

5. Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica-GreenEdge at 3-10

6. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin at 3-46

7. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar at 6-47

8. Mikel Nieve (Spa) Team Sky at 7-07

9. Daniel Moreno (Spa) Katusha at 7-12

10. Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka at 10-26

Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix winner John Degenkolb will be looking to increase his tally of nine stage wins at the Vuelta a España, with a strong team assembled around him by Giant-Alpecin.

The German took four stages in last year's race, adding to the five he won in 2012, on his way to winning the points classification and will be looking to get back to winning ways after a frustrating Tour de France.

With Marcel Kittel out of contention for the Tour squad, Degenkolb battled hard for seven top-10 finishes but couldn't find his way to the top of the podium as Andre Greipel swept up all four of the true sprint stages.

Tom Dumoulin returns to action after breaking his collarbone in the horrific crash on stage three of the Tour, with one eye on the long time trial on stage 17 as well as some of the punchier finishes.

"Our main goal is to go for stage success with John, as we targeted at the Tour," explained coach Christian Guiberteau. "With Koen [de Kort], Luka [Mezgec], Zico [Waeytens] and Tom [Dumoulin] we have a strong lead-out for John. With Lawson we are working towards the longer-term development, and will not target specific GC ambitions but rather we aim to help him learn how to behave as GC rider.

"We have shown at the Giro and Tour that we are ready to take any opportunities as they come and on the in-between stages we will look to profit from the breakaway opportunities. In addition we have Tom here who will look to target the TT along with the classics style stages."

Giant-Alpecin squad for the Vuelta a España

John Degenkolb, Lawson Craddock, Tom Dumoulin, Johannes Frohlinger, Thierry Hupond, Koen de Kort, Luka Mezgec, Tom Stamsnijder, Zico Waeytens

Without Marcel Kittel in the Giant-Alpecin squad, fellow German John Degenkolb gets his chance to shine in the Tour de France.

It's been a standout year for Degenkolb so far, with a rare Classics double at Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix, but will the sprinter look to add the Tour's green jersey to his trophy cabinet?

According to Degenkolb, he is only interested in winning stages at the Tour in July, with the green jersey not in his sights this year.

"First, we will focus on a stage victory," he told Sporza. "I suppose if the green comes into sight, then maybe we should try for it, but it is not the priority.

"The green jersey is a big dream of mine, but at present it is not on the agenda."

Degenkolb has proven his ability at the Grand Tours, winning nine stages of the Vuelta a España in two editions, as well as a stage in the Giro d'Italia, but has had to settle for three second-place finishes in the Tour.

He admits he's not a pure sprinter, though, but says he is confident that he can mix it with the best fast-men around if his team work together.

And while his Roubaix win will mark him out as the favourite for stage four over the cobbles, the German is keen to impress that he can do more than just win over pavé.

"With Tom Dumoulin we have someone in the team that is a favourite for the opening time trial, so there is no stress for me," he added.

"But it also does not mean that I'm not ambitious. I've never won in the Tour de France. I hope to change that at in my third attempt.

"I hear that as the winner of Paris-Roubaix I am in the favorites [for stage four], but I do not just want to focus on that. I am also looking at other stages and am very flexible."

Mark Cavendish talks about the 2015 Tour de France

Marcel Kittel has been included in Giant-Alpecin's long-list for their 2015 Tour de France squad, despite having missed a sizeable chunk of the season through illness.

Kittel attempted to make his comeback from the illness he'd been suffering from since the Tour of Qatar at the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire, but subsequently abandoned the race in the middle of stage one.

The German is due to attempt another return to racing at the sprinter friendly ASO stage race, the World Ports Classic, which begins on Saturday.

Kittel is joined on the 13-rider strong list by John Degenkolb, who in contrast to his compatriot, has had a fine season taking two monuments in Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix. Degenkolb made his return to racing after a mid-season break at Bayern Rundfahrt, where he won two stages.

Time trial specialist Tom Dumoulin is also listed, and will have one eye on the prologue (and the only time trial) of this year's Tour in Utrecht and the chance to take the first maillot jaune of the race.

"The one time trial [in the Tour] makes up for a lot," Dumoulin told Cycling Weekly earlier this year.

"It's in my home country and it's the perfect distance for me, so it's going to be huge for me. I'm really looking forward to that, so it doesn't really matter that there's not another time trial.

"I'm not really thinking about the yellow jersey at the moment - I'm busy with the process of getting to my top level for that day and that's what matters to me."

Giant-Alpecin long-list for 2015 Tour de France:

Warren Barguil (FRA)

Roy Curvers (NED)

Bert De Backer (BEL)

John Degenkolb (GER)

Tom Dumoulin (NED)

Johannes Fröhlinger (GER)

Simon Geschke (GER)

Marcel Kittel (GER)

Koen de Kort (NED)

Georg Preidler (AUT)

Ramon Sinkeldam (NED)

Albert Timmer (NED)

Tom Veelers (NED)

Alex Dowsett (Movistar) took the overall victory at Bayern Rundfahrt, after he moved into the lead with time trial victory on the previous day.

The overall win is Dowsett's first in a stage race as a professional.

The final stage ended in a sprint in Nuremberg which was won by John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin), his second stage win in the five-day race.

A six-man break went away early on during the 197km stage from Hassfurt to Nuremberg, but with Movistar determined to keep Dowsett in yellow and the sprinters' teams eyeing a final stage victory, the catch was inevitable.

Ireland’s Sam Bennett, riding for Bora-Argon 18, will also be delighted with his work in Bavaria, claiming two sprints in the race.

Brits have a history of success in the Bayern-Rundfahrt, with Geraint Thomas claiming the overall victory in both 2011 and 2014 and a second place in 2013.

The win rounded off a good weekend for Dowsett after Sir Bradley Wiggins failed to take his National 10 Mile TT record on Saturday afternoon.

Bayern Rundfahrt final overall classification

1. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar, 20:07:29

2. Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha, at 2s

3. Jan Barta (Cze) Bora-Argon 18, at 18s

4. Ramuna Navardauskas (Ltu) Cannondale-Garmin, at 22s

5. Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Garmin, at 31s

6. Nils Politt (Ger) Team Stölting, at 33s

7. Jack Bauer (NZl) Cannondale-Garmin, at 46s

8. Lawrence Warbasse (USA) IAM-Cycling, at 47s

9. Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Cult Energy Pro Cycling, at 52s

10. Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar, at 53s

John Degenkolb's Paris-Roubaix win came thanks to a combination of luck, tactics and speed – a perfect mixture on Sunday in northern France.

The 26-year-old of Germany's team Giant-Alpecin rode solo to the lead duo of Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) and Yves Lampaert (Etixx-Quick Step) with 6km to race and after the group grew in numbers, sprinted to the win. It was his second monument of the 2015 season after winning Milan-San Remo on March 22.

"There was not a moment of trouble. I did not have a mechanical problem. Today was the first day I didn't have a problem, no crashes or punctures," Degenkolb said.

"We had to work hard for this, you have to be perfect on the bike, your legs must be good. It's a long period from Milan-San Remo to Roubaix. Now two monuments, what the fuck!"

Degenkolb stayed nestled in the lead groups while others attacked (Bradley Wiggins, Zdenek Stybar, Stijn Vandenbergh) and others crashed or had mechanicals (Geraint Thomas, Peter Sagan).

Bradley Wiggins proud of Paris-Roubaix efforts

Viewers saw flashes of his black jersey or those of his teammates, but not as frequently as the colours of Etixx - Quick-Step, Lotto-Soudal or Team Sky. He only came to the fore in the final 10km.

The bolt of Degenkolb lighting struck twice: once when he attacked and chased solo to join the lead pair at six kilometres, and the second time for the sprint win ahead of Etixx's Czech champion, Stybar.

"We spoke about it, looked at the race last year, I watched it many times, what I could do better," Degenkolb added.

"The whole team was there, the situation was under control. If I would have waited, and not gone, probably my result would not have been better than last year [second place - ed.].

"I knew I had to react to every move, that was the key to success. I decided all or nothing over those 10 kilometres. I had to invest a lot of energy to be in the situation to sprint for the victory. Finally, in the last five kilometres, Greg and I were pulling alone, and Stybar was coming from back...

"The sprint was something special, if you've never done it before, you have no idea. You try to accelerate, try to go out of saddle, then you realise you legs are likely gummy."

Degenkolb became only the third cyclist in history to win Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in the same year following Irishman Sean Kelly in 1986 and Belgian Cyrille van Hauwaert in 1908.

http://timeInc.brightcove.com.edgesuite.net/rtmp_uds/26996914001/201504/1181/26996914001_4152959997001_4152713637001.mp4

Sean Kelly’s guide to riding the cobbles

John Degenkolb took his second monument win of 2015 after sprinting to victory from a group of seven riders at the 2015 Paris-Roubaix.

The German had made a huge effort to bridge his way up to two leaders, Greg van Avermaet (BMC) and Yves Lampaert (Etixx - Quick-Step) who had made their move with around 11km (and two pavé sectors) to go.

As expected, the pair were unwilling to work with the sprinter to bring him to the finish, allowing Zdenek Stybar (Etixx - Quick-Step) to ride up to join his teammate Lampaert, with Lars Boom (Astana), Jens Keukeleire (Orica-GreenEdge) and Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling) also making the bridge with just a few kilometres remaining.

It was then onto the velodrome where Lampaert attempted to leadout the Czech champion Stybar, who on the final lap found himself on the front of the group. It was Degenkolb who then launched his sprint on the final bend, with neither Stybar nor Van Avermaet able to come round him, finishing second and third respectively.

The in form Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) rolled in 31 seconds back to finish tenth, three seconds off Team Sky and Britain's best finisher Luke Rowe, who took eighth place.

Brits in the thick of the action

There was no fairytale ending for Sir Bradley Wiggins however, who after a huge build-up to Roubaix, which was to be his last race for Sky, finished in 18th place in the same group as Kristoff.

It wasn't for lack of trying however, with Wiggins making an attack late in the day out of a big group containing the likes of Sep Vanmarcke (LottoNL-Jumbo), Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Niki Terpstra (Etixx - Quick-Step), to try to bridge across to the leaders, but ran out of road with only 4km remaining.

The world time trial champion had been active earlier in the race as well, making an attack from the peloton on cobbles sector seven, the Templeuve, to bridge across to Stijn Vandenbergh (Etixx - Quick-Step) who had made an earlier attack.

The pair couldn't make it stick though, and were quickly brought back by the main bunch.

Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) was unable to follow-up his excellent recent Classics form, abandoning the race sometime after a heavy fall which left the Welshman looking out of sorts.

Earlier in the day, Adam Blythe (Orica-GreenEdge) had got himself into a nine-man breakaway which eventually formed after a frantic first hour to racing which saw the riders average over 50kmph.

The break was finally caught with around 20km to go, though it had shed a number of its original riders, with Blythe eventually rolling across the line in 85th, 8-24 down on the winner.

But it was Degenkolb who took the spoils at the end of the day, becoming the first German to win Paris-Roubaix since the first edition in 1896, to add to his Milan-San Remo victory earlier this year.

Result

Paris-Roubaix 2015, 253.5km:

1. John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant Alpecin, in 5-49-51

2. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step

3. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC

4. Lars Boom (Ned) Astana

5. Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling

6. Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge, all same time

7. Yves Lampaert (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step, at 7 seconds

8. Luke Rowe (Gbr) Team Sky, at 28 seconds

9. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at 31 seconds

10. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, st

Selected others

18. Bradley Wiggins (Gbr) Team Sky, at 31 seconds

47. Ian Stannard (Gbr) Team Sky, at 3-29

69. Scott Thwaites (Gbr) Bora-Argon18, at 7-50

85. Adam Blythe (Gbr) Orica-GreenEdge, at 8-24

John Degenkolb admits it was a weekend to forget as the defence of his Ghent-Wevelgem title was blighted by the weather conditions.

The German Giant-Alpecin rider was involved in the crash that ended Fabian Cancellara’s Classics campaign in the early stages of Friday’s E3 Harelbeke, bruising his knee and hip in the process.

Then, in Sunday’s gale-force winds, Degenkolb found his confidence knocked and was surprised as to why the race wasn’t neutralised as many riders suffered injuries from their falls.

“The race could have been neutralized at least on the open fields, where the wind was hardest,” he wrote on his personal website. “Ahead was a group of 30 to 40. 25 of them crashed.

“I am not looking for excuses for why I wasn’t near the front. I was affected by my bruised knee and hip from the crash.

“But I simply wanted not to crash again; rode in the wind more often in order to not have anyone around me, and then at some point your tank is empty. And then shortly before the Kemmelberg, I had a rear puncture. Then it was all over.

“And then my train had a two-hour delay. A weekend to forget. Check it off and look forward. I will now try to lick my wounds and recover.”

>>> Should cyclists have to race in bad weather?

Degenkolb will be hoping for more favourable conditions in Sunday’s Tour of Flanders and will head into the following weekend’s Paris-Roubaix as one of the favourites after his second-place finish last year.

John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) sprinted to victory at the 2015 Milan-San Remo from a reduced peloton as a number of pre-race favourites were distanced on the Poggio, with several riders being taken down by crashes.

The German rider took the first monument win of the season ahead of sprint rivals Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) who finished in second, third and fourth respectively.

Defending champion Kristoff was the first to launch his sprint from a long way ahead of the line, but faded enough for Degenkolb to pull past him and take victory a half-a-bike length ahead of the Norwegian.

Team Sky's Ben Swift was Britain's highest placed rider, finishing in 13th, while Mark Cavendish (Etixx - Quick-Step) appeared to get distanced after a mechanical, as the peloton crested the final climb of the day, the Poggio.

A number of crashes blighted the race throughout the latter part of the 293km course, with several big name riders being taken down on the technical descent of the Poggio. World champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx - Quick-Step) saw his chances wiped out there, along with teammate Zdenek Stybar and BMC rider Philippe Gilbert. Former winner Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka) also went down on the fast descent.

Earlier in the day there were attacks from the gun, with an 11 rider breakaway eventually forming to settle in for a long day out front. Stretching out a maximum gap of just over 10 minutes, the war of attrition took its toll and eventually saw the last of the fragmented break caught, with Matteo Bono (Lampre-Merida) absorbed by the peloton with on the slopes of the Cipressa with 32km remaining.

The race then kicked into action as Daniel Oss (BMC) made an attack and was quickly joined by Geraint Thomas (Team Sky). The pair could only build-up a gap of around 20 seconds before the bunch closed them down as they took on the Poggio.

Thomas then made one final attack before he was caught by Greg van Avermaet (BMC) and eventually the main bunch as the high pace put Cavendish and other sprinters like André Greipel (Lotto-Soudal) in trouble.

With the bunch back together a sprint looked inevitable, and it was Degenkolb who had enough strength remaining after the marathon Classic to take his first La Primavera win and the first monument of the 2015 season.

Result

2015 Milan-San Remo, 293km:

1. John Degenkolb (Ger) Giant-Alpecin in 6-46-16

2. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Katusha, st

3. Michael Matthews (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge, st

4. Peter Sagan (Slo) Tinkoff-Saxo, st

5. Nicolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-Merida, st

6. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Cofidis, st

7. Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek Factory Racing, st

8. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida, st

9. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal, st

10. Edvald Boasson-Hagen (Nor) MTN-Qhubeka, st

Selected others

13. Ben Swift (Gbr) Team Sky, st

31. Geraint Thomas (Gbr) Team Sky, at 12 seconds

37. Simon Yates (Gbr) Orica-GreenEdge, at 23 seconds

46. Mark Cavendish (Gbr) Etixx - Quick-Step, st

Two riders with similar objectives – often a scenario which leads to disharmony within a professional team, but a pair of Team Giant-Alpecin sprinters are not expecting friction any time soon.

In Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb, Giant-Alpecin has a double act that has notched up 21 Grand Tour stage wins, including eight by Kittel at the Tour de France across the last two editions.

As recent history has shown, teams with two world-class sprinters can see a power struggle erupt with both leading men vying to race as the leader at the Tour.

André Greipel departed HTC-Columbia in 2011 after failing to oust the Manx Missile Mark Cavendish as the squad’s leading sprinter and has gone on to claim six Tour stage wins.

While last season, Nacer Bouhanni’s points classification win at the Giro d’Italia was not enough to win the heart of FDJ boss Marc Madiot, who preferred Arnaud Démare for the Tour, and Bouhanni moved to Cofidis for 2015.

But Degenkolb believes he and Kittel can coexist in Giant-Alpecin’s Tour squad, as the pair agree beforehand who will target the win on each stage.

“We decide when we see the parcours for the Tour,” he said at Giant-Alpecin’s team launch in Berlin.

“We sit down together and say ‘this is a stage for you and this could be a stage for me’. We have an open relationship, more or less like a friendship, and many things are much easier that way.”

Kittel cemented his place among the peloton’s best sprinters in 2014 with four Tour de France stage wins, including the stage one sprint in Harrogate.

Back-to-back wins on the Champs-Élysées marked the second time that the German sprinter has bookended his Tour with wins, but is more than happy to help his compatriot Degenkolb go for glory if the parcours is not to his liking.

“When you look at us as sprinters, we both have chances to win stages, but we can also be a benefit to each other,” he said.

“It would be silly for one of us to say they don’t want the other on the team. I know John, we are friends, he knows I am loyal to him and I know he’s loyal to me. There’s nothing I have to worry about.

“It’s important for me to know we have a plan where everyone is happy.”

Degenkolb’s two second-place finishes in the 2014 Tour de France show that the pair’s plan is working well, but it is in the one-day races that the younger of the duo excelled last year.

With a win at Gent-Wevelgem and second place at Paris-Roubaix, Degenkolb showed the peloton that he has more strings to his bow than flat-out sprinting.

“I don’t believe that I am able to beat Marcel or the really fast guys in a race that is not hard enough to make them suffer before the finish line,” he said.

“I can probably beat them if there is a hard race before, but if everyone is fresh then I’m not quick as the other guys. The good thing is that I’m just as quick after a classic as I am after an easy stage of the Tour.”