Degenkolb interview

DW: It's been a long season of cycling for you. Are you pleased that you can now put your bike in the corner and relax a little?

John Degenkolb: Yes, definitely. The cycling season is relatively long when compared with other sports. It begins in February and finishes in mid October. This means you don't really have a lot of time to put your bike in the corner. This a time we use intensively, so there is no time to go on vacation. So I kind of enjoy this crazy time. It gives me new strength and the motivation to make a fresh start.

In the UCI Road World Championships in Ponferrada, you almost couldn't start because you stayed two nights in hospital with swollen lymph glands. Nevertheless, you still took part. Didn't it occur to you: what am I doing with my body?

No. It was important to me that I didn't risk my health. Of course, I try to do everything for my dreams. But I'm know that I can extend my career for 15 years in the best case. After that, I want to lead a normal life. My condition was monitored by several doctors and they made sure I didn't take any risks.

Despite your stay in hospital, you were right up the front during the World Championships. Does that mean you are a chance to win it in the future?

I think that it is definitely possible. Different factors play a role. You need to be in good form, the track needs to suit you, and you need a good team supporting you. If that all comes together, then I have a good chance to win that road cycling world championship title.

In order to do that some cyclists, who at first were sprinters, start to focus on winning the day long road cycling classics and become a little slower in the sprints.. Would that be an option for you?

Yes, definitely. I think that my potential lies in racing in the classics, rather than in the sprints anyway. I just don't have that crazy speed like Marcel Kittel, Mark Cavendish or Andre Greipel haben. But over the long races, I can beat those riders in the sprints.

Your team will get a new German sponsor during the winter break. Is that a sign that German cycling is picking up again?

Definitely. In the last few years, we have done a lot of important work and we've also been in discussion with a lot of people. It's good that the ARD [Germany's national domestic broadcaster] is seriously considering broadcasting the Tour de France. A clear upswing is there and I hope it continues.

You personally joined with other cyclists to lobby the TV channels in Germany to do more for cycling. How did you go about it?

In essence we didn't have to say anything other than the truth. A lot has changed in cycling. We are a new generation, which has grown up with the issue of doping and we are much more aware of the problem. The monitoring of doping is now much better, and there are biological passports for athletes too. I hope that the German anti-doping law finally gets approved. I talked about these sorts of issues with the TV bosses.

Despite many efforts in cycling to clean up the sport's image, people still think "Why should I believe them? We've heard it all before." What's your answer to that cynicism?

I've said it time and time again. We really are saying all the same stuff as our predecessors. We just have to find a way to win back people's trust now. After all, I can't do anything more than tell the truth.

John Degenkolb rides for the Giant-Shimano team on the UCI ProTour. In 2012, the Gera-born athlete won the UCI Europe Tour.