Degenkolb ahead of Tour de France: 'Danger is always there'

The topic dominating conversations ahead of the 110th edition of the Tour de France remains the tragic death of Swiss cyclist Gino Mäder.

The 26-year-old's fatal accident on the Tour de Suisse recently has shaken the peloton and the crash on a particularly tough descent has sparked a renewed conversation about safety.

How much risk is involved in cycling? Do routes need to be changed and does the sport need to invest more in riders' safety? And if so, how?

The answers remain elusive, but Germany's John Degenkolb (Team DSM-Firmenich), in his 13th season as a professional cyclist, has his thoughts about the sport, the Tour and the responsibility of the riders.

Mäder was 'one of us'

DW: John Degenkolb, where were you when you found about Gino Mäder's death and what went through your mind?

John Degenkolb: I was at the Tour of Belgium. It was time-trial day. We were all sat together on the bus and heard the news. The atmosphere changed abruptly. It was a tragedy, people were affected and grieved, even for people like me who were not there or who did not know Gino closely. He's one of us, one of the guys from the peloton and that stays in your head.

Mäder's accident has sparked a conversation around safety in cycling. It happened on a high-speed descent shortly before the finish. A tragic racing accident or are such finishes better avoided?

We shouldn't point fingers and say they or you are responsible for this accident. I think it is much more important that we try to get the stakeholders in cycling, i.e. the UCI, the race organisers, the teams, the riders' union, to come to the table to work on shared concepts for safety. We need clear regulations that say: this is what safe routes must look like, this is how far racers are willing to go, and this is how safe equipment must be.

At the moment, that is what I am most critical of, that too little is being done in this area. Just looking at the route of one stage is the wrong starting point for making cycling safer in the long term. We are all responsible for safety and we have to pull together as riders, unions, teams, federations and organizers.

Still, some of your colleagues have been critical of the route at the Tour de Suisse that included a descent so close to finish. The Tour de France also features similar situations, include the demanding and fast descent on stage 14 that leads steeply down to the ski resort of Morzine. What are your thoughts on this stage?

I don't want to make it easy for myself here and say that only the route is responsible for something like this being possible. The danger is always there, regardless of whether the descent just before the finish is or whether it's in the middle of the stage.

We are an outdoor sport that takes place in the mountains and so, if you want to have the spectacle of the mountain, you have to go up and come down. We professionals are used to it and have the necessary experience.

'The riders also play a role'

Riders also tend to contribute to crashes, particularly in the first week, because of their risky style. How much responsibility do the competitors have to take for their own safety?

Of course, the riders also play a role, that much is clear. That's why I don't think it's fair to only look at one perspective. Instead we have to come together and figure out a way to minimize the extra risk that comes from risky manoeuvres.

Your former teammate Marcel Kittel recently brought the idea of airbags into play. They already exist and are shaped like scarves, but are unlikely to be aerodynamic or comfortable on hot days. What do you think of them?

They're all ideas that can make cycling safer. I don't want to rule out the possibility of anything like that. It needs to be tested, and that's why a committee would be good, in which all parties sit around a table and decide to try something like this.

You have experienced a lot of progress during your long career. Materials have developed dramatically in recent years, with both bike and clothing becoming more aerodynamic, tires have lower rolling resistance, disc brakes allow later braking and training regimes have been optimized. That has all led to cycling becoming measurably faster, but is it too fast?

Much has changed, especially with the move from rim brakes to disc brakes. That has definitely led to higher speeds on descents and before corners.

In addition, almost every racer now has the route on his bike computer and can see before the curve exactly how it bends and where you don't need to brake. So you go into the bend with more confidence and that naturally leads to you going faster. But speed is not the only reason why it has become more dangerous.

John Degenkolb has been a professional cyclist since 2011 and is entering his ninth Tour de France. The winner of The Spring classic and Paris-Roubaix (both in 2015) is seen as a leader in the peloton and is a mentor in his team DSM-Firmenich for younger riders. He has won stages at all three Grand Tours (Tour de France, Giro and Vuelta) and is a specialist on the cobblestones.

This interview has been translated from German.