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Tag: John Degenkolb

  • John Degenkolb’s finger and what it means for the spring classics

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    Alex
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    Nine of John Degenkolb’s fingers are fine. The tenth one pretty much came off and has only just been stuck back on. According to the man of science who wielded the glue, it’ll be three months before its owner is back racing. That means Degenkolb will miss the whole spring classics campaign. Being as he…

  • John Degenkolb’s three-week wait comes to an end

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    Alex
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    After doing his best Peter Sagan impression for much of this Vuelta, John Degenkolb finally got his stage win on the last day of the race. Near misses, tiredness and a great deal of ultimately fruitless assistance for team-mate Tom Dumoulin and he finally got some reward. At times, Degenkolb has been doing work in…

  • John Degenkolb is the fastest man in the Vuelta

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    Alex
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    Peter Sagan’s gone, Nacer Bouhanni’s gone and after a few kilometres of stage 10, stage five winner Caleb Ewan had gone as well. John Degenkolb was now clearly the fastest man left in the race and at the finish he proved it. Sadly for him, he made one slight error. He allowed Kristian Sbaragli a…

  • John Degenkolb, gummy and the spring classics’ new era

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    Alex
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    I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking ‘did Greg Van Avermaet come second in Paris-Roubaix?’. No, he didn’t. He came third. John Degenkolb’s moustache won. A fine win it was too. “Degenkolb’s still there,” was perhaps the defining piece of commentary. The man who finished second last year was in the key group without really…

  • John Degenkolb claims ownership of a Monument

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    Alex
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    As the old saying goes, ‘complete-lack-of-timeliness is next to Godliness’. As such, Wednesday night seems a perfect time to report on Sunday’s Milan-San Remo. What happened? I sometimes get dragged into writing a sort of pseudo-race report and I always regret it. Far better to concentrate on the bold headline information: John Degenkolb’s moustache won.…

  • Four or five riders to watch in 2015

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    Alex
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    I was going to pick five riders to watch, but while four came to me quite quickly, the fifth proved more elusive. A draft version of this article has been hanging around for about three months now, so I finally decided that four was my number. The perfect fifth selection will doubtless materialise in my…

  • Chris Froome earns himself a second place

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    Alex
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    Chris Froome’s been runner-up in Grand Tours three times now, but whereas on the two previous occasions, he could blame Bradley Wiggins for not being a place higher, this time it was all his own doing. Not that finishing second to Alberto Contador should really be considered failure. Contador’s bust-legged performance in this race highlighted…

  • John Degenkolb stays at the right end of the spaghetti

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    Alex
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    John Degenkolb says his favourite type of training session is the rest day, or failing that the leisurely coffee ride. I doubt all the riders having the previous day off was what allowed him to win stage 17, but who knows? A little of what you fancy and all that. It was a tense approach…

  • John Degenkolb doesn’t have a knackered leg

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    Alex
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    Or maybe he does. After all, bust limbs seem to be performance enhancing if Alberto Contador’s form is anything to go by. Before the stage, Degenkolb was bandaged from a crash and saying he couldn’t produce much power. After the stage, he was standing on the podium getting kissed on the cheeks by raven-haired Spanish…

  • It can be hard to get round John Degenkolb

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    Alex
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    It was another sprint finish and another John Degenkolb win. Nacer Bouhanni managed to stay in the front group, but couldn’t get round the German at the finish. Bouhanni says this was because Degenkolb was in his way. More accurately, he tried to overtake where there was little room when he could just as easily…