The future of cycling: Longing for a golden generation of cyclists

Marcel Kittel shines as a TV pundit on Dutch television, Tony Martin is a fan of the team Jumbo-Visma at the track and André Greipel takes a look at the Tour de France on television.

Difficult times for German cycling?

The German protagonists of the past decade are in well-deserved retirement - and so are their successes.

Mountain king Simon Geschke (Cofidis) and John Degenkolb (Team DSM) are currently the last representatives of the Jan Ullrich generation at the Tour of France, who were just on the verge of puberty when they won the Tour 25 years ago and benefited from the boom in Germany.

No golden generation in sight

"It's not a nice development. In recent years, we've been spoilt at the Tour with stage wins by André Greipel and Marcel Kittel. That will be much more difficult in the coming years," Geschke tells the dpabut emphasises: "The generation after me is still very good. It's also a generation that has benefited from the boom."

Maximilian Schachmann, Nils Politt and Lennard Kämna (all three Bora-Hansgrohe) have all won stages in the Tour. Georg Zimmermann (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) rides aggressively and often appears in breakaway groups. The question is: what comes next? Of course there are talents like the new U23 European champion Felix Engelhardt or the enormously talented Marco Brenner. But the great mass, a golden generation, is not in sight. "There are still nine riders in the Tour this year, that's definitely not going to happen," says Geschke.

The last time there were as few Tour starters as this year was 20 years ago. The looming lack of young talent is by no means exclusive to Germany. But cycling nations such as Belgium, France and Italy are finding it easier to find talented youngsters.

Bora boss Denk warns

This starts with the junior races. "We have very small starting fields in Germany. The pool of talent is getting smaller and smaller. That falls on our shoulders," says Ralph Denk, head of the best German team, Bora-Hansgrohe. More and more extensive requirements from the authorities are taking away the desire of organisers: "It's easier in Belgium or Italy. There you don't even realise two hours before the start that a race is about to take place."

Junior races are cancelled in Germany

But the German penchant for regulations and requirements is not the only reason for the collapse in racing. The trend began even earlier. "After the big scandals, almost all of the junior races in Germany were cancelled. With Bora, we have a World Tour team that is also very internationally orientated. As a young German rider, it's super difficult to even make the leap into the professional ranks," says Geschke. There is no ProConti team in the second division of cycling and the few good Conti teams lack the platform due to the lack of races.

In addition, the coronavirus pandemic is the latest driver of concerns about young talent. "If you can't race for two years at youth level, you lose interest in the sport if you can't compete. This has damaged the sport, not just cycling," said German champion Politt.

Politt takes association to task

The Cologne-based rider believes that the federation has a duty in this regard: "Of course I hope that the gap will be closed and that the federation will come up with something. Then we will have more riders at the Tour again."

Initially, however, there will be fewer familiar faces. Geschke has one year left on his contract and would like to ride the Giro next year. Degenkolb won't be around forever either. "We have to support the young riders," says the 2015 Roubaix winner. "We have to give them perspective and be role models. Then they'll hold on to their dreams." Degenkolb, Greipel, Martin and co. have shown that small dreams can turn into big victories.

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