John Degenkolb said he doesn’t know where to put his winner’s trophy after taking victory in the 113th edition of the prestigious Paris-Roubaix race.
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The 26-year-old German became only the third person in history to win Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix in the same year as he bested Czech Zdenek Stybar and Greg Van Avermaet of Belgium in a sprint finish.
When asked how he felt, the Giant-Alpecin rider said he was at a loss as to where to put the winner’s trophy, which is a stone cobble – paying tribute to the 253km race which takes in more than 50km of bumpy, cobbled roads.
“Emotion is really the right word, it’s really something I can’t believe and imagine at the moment,” said Degenkolb. “I have to search now for a place to put the cobblestone in my appartment, and this is not going to be easy. It’s big and heavy, I need to find a stable bench for it.”
Degenkolb is first German to win Roubaix since 1896, when Josef Fischer won the inaugural edition of the race.
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There was an air of inevitability about Degenkolb’s win once he arrived in the velodrome as part of a seven-man leading group. Van Avermaet and fellow Belgian Yves Lampaert broke clear 11km from the end and built up a lead of 10 seconds but Degenkolb chased them down alone.
The two Belgians let Degenkolb lead the way but were caught by four more riders in the final 3km. At this point it seemed highly unlikely that anyone could beat Degenkolb and true to form, despite Stybar launching out for home first, the German passed him with aplomb and took the victory with ease.
In his last road race before leaving Team Sky and returning to the track ahead of next year’s Rio Games, reigning Olympic and world time-trial champion Bradley Wiggins finished 18th, in a group 31 seconds behind.
