Former Paris-Roubaix winner John Degenkolb is competing in the Tour de France for the eighth time.
The classics specialist is part of the eight-man squad of his DSM team for the Tour of France, which begins on July 1 in Copenhagen. For compatriot Nikias Arndt, on the other hand, there was no place in the DSM team. The team is led by Frenchman Romain Bardet, who finished second overall on the 2016 Tour.
Especially in the first week, Degenkolb can hope for a day’s victory in the tricky wind edge or cobblestone stages. The fifth stage leads over eleven cobblestone sectors and ends just before the infamous Arenberg forest, which is always part of the classic Paris-Roubaix.
In 2018, Degenkolb took his only Tour stage win on a similar stage in Roubaix.