John Degenkolbs Tour de France is over almost before it even started with the German required out of the race after missing out on the time cut on stage 1.
Degenkolb was associated with a crash throughout an extremely hard opening stage in Nice that saw the race cluttered with falls due to heavy rain and slick road conditions. At one point the riders even reduced the effects of the stage but even an easing in speed wasnt enough for Degenkolb to make it back to the peloton..
His fall, together with Ewan, left the German with a lot of injuries and while the Australian was able to mount a resurgence and even complete in 19th location, there was no such joy for Degenkolb, who finished damp, alone and over the time limit. He finished simply under 18 minutes behind stage winner Alexander Kristoff, and roughly three minutes over the limitation.
” Sometimes you win, in some cases you lose,” he wrote on Instagram after receiving a quick evaluation of his wounds that included a cut knee and elbow on his right side. The German is presently undergoing scans.
” Today I lost all … all I trained and worked for in this unique 2020. A crash took us, Caleb me and a lot of other riders on the wet ground and ruined all my dreams. destroyed my Tour on the first day … with open knees I could finish with a great deal of pain the stage, alone, with a more than 18 minutes hold-up but undoubtedly I am far out of the timelimit. obviously its frustrating as hell however thats the brutal reality of biking. sad.
Cyclingnews has actually gained from Lotto Soudal that they tried to appeal the choice of the race jury but that their effort was declined.
