tour reporter
Nine German professional cyclists are currently riding the Tour de France – there were so few 22 years ago. And the future of German cycling looks bleak.
On Sunday evening (July 3rd, 2022) the entourage of Tour de France on the 905-kilometer journey from Sonderborgthe destination of the 3rd stage, to Dunkirk, where the 4th stage starts on Tuesday.
Moving from Denmark to France involves a lot of work. The drivers and theirs entourage were shipped to the home country of the tour on five charter planes. The rest of the gigantic tour group went on the autobahn via Hamburg and the Ruhr area in the direction of France.
Only nine German tour starters
The path leads through a country that has big concerns when it comes to cycling. Nine German professional cyclists are part of the entourage of the 109th edition of the tour. The last time there were so few was in 2000, seven years later there were 19 Germans – a peak figure. “I think it’s part of a development”says Jonasrutsch from Team EF Education Easy Postone of the nine current tour starters.
However, since 2007 there have been years in which only ten German drivers have been on the road in France. A trend cannot necessarily be seen from the number of drivers with a German passport. So where exactly is cycling in this country? What is missing? “Basically, we lack breadth”says Ralph Denk, the team boss of the German World Tour team Bora-hansgrohe. “It still looks pretty good at the top.”
Generation Jan Ullrich
Most of the current generation of German professional cyclists experienced the foothills of the cycling boom in their childhood and adolescence, which was triggered by Jan Ullrich’s tour victory 25 years ago. “Jan Ullrich shaped my childhood”says German champion Nils Politt, 28.
Many children and young people were like John Degenkolb back then. “Jan Ullrich was one of the reasons why I started cycling”, says the 33-year-old professional from Team DSM. The youngsters who were lured into cycling by Ullrich’s success found numerous races where they could compete right from the start.
Fewer and fewer youth drivers
But with the big doping scandals from 2006 to 2008 and the fall of the national cycling hero Ullrich, not only a large part of the audience turned away from the Tour de France but also many sponsors who had previously supported local races. And cycling lost its fascination. According to the Federation of German Cyclists (BDR), the number of racing licenses in 2006 was 1,054 in the U19 class alone. Last year there were only 369. A dramatic decrease.
Of course, it would be too easy to blame the decline in young cyclists solely on the doping scandals in professional cycling. Cycling is expensive, time-consuming and painful. “It’s a tough sport. And I’ve noticed in my environment that it’s often like this these days: If it hurts a bit, I’d rather not do it and maybe do another sport.”says slip. “The bite is missing.”
However, cycling is not alone with its young talent concerns. Many sports have been complaining for a long time that they no longer reach young people. There are very different reasons for this, including all-day school and distraction through digital offers. The corona pandemic and the temporary closure of club sports have increased these needs.
30 percent fewer races
In addition, there is a social development in which organized sport in general is losing ground. In May, the Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Applied Training Sciences (IAT), Prof. Martin Engelhardt, stated that “the enthusiasm for sport and high-performance sport should be carried back into society” must. In that regard, we have big problems compared to other nations.”.
Generating this enthusiasm is only possible if opportunities can be created for it. Almost everyone you talk to about the state of German road cycling complains that there are too few races. “When I was young I could do three races within a 100km radius every weekend. Now sometimes there is no race within a 300km radius.”, says the sports show expert Fabian Wegmann. This coincides with the figures of the BDR. It is estimated there that the number of racing events has fallen by around 30 percent over the past 15 years.
High effort for bike races
Wegmann also knows from his own experience how difficult it is to get a bike race on the road in Germany. The 42-year-old former professional cyclist is also director of the Deutschland Tour and struggles to design a route year after year. Many municipalities shy away from the effort required to close off roads for a bike race.
“The biggest problem is the cost”says Wegman. “There have been ever stricter safety requirements in recent years, that costs money and many municipalities cannot pay for it. And then there is the problem of liability, many do not want to take the risk.“This also applies to smaller, local races. For some of them, the necessary budget has increased tenfold, Wegmann knows.
Call for help to politicians
Ralph Denk also laments the high hurdles that organizers of street races are exposed to these days. “I went to a regional last week Kids Cup in the mountain bike. There were 300 participants from the ages of seven to 15″says Denk. “Of course it’s much easier to organize than a street race, but I do believe that the association must find solutions together with politicians so that street races are easier to organize again.” BDR President Rudolf Scharping has already made a move at the Federal Interior Ministers’ Conference. Without a result. “We need politics”says Wegmann.
Hindley’s Giro win sparks sponsor interest
Team manager Denk has identified a glimmer of hope, at least for professional cycling. After his driver’s overall victory Jay Hindley at the Giro d’Italia German companies would have knocked on his door and announced their interest in sponsoring in cycling. Although Hindley, as an Australian, doesn’t necessarily market well in Germany.
Many companies that come into question as potential sponsors operate internationally. As are the two current sponsors who support Denk’s team. So is his team not just national. “German cycling is important, the best German riders should ride for Bora-hansgrohe”says Denk. “But I still want to emphasize that we don’t want to be a national team.”
A German professional who at the Tour de France Being able to compete for the overall victory would of course help get cycling back on its feet in this country. But there is no such thing in sight. “I don’t see anyone coming around the corner who is imposing there”, says Denk, whose team is led by Russian Alexander Vlasov on the tour. In view of the youngsters’ concerns in cycling in this country, it is not to be expected that this will change any time soon. “We fish”says Denk, “in a small pool.”