Going into the 2017 edition of Paris-Roubaix, the Trek-Segafredo team is no longer entering the race with triple winner Fabian Cancellara as their leader but with 28-year-old John Degenkolb, the winner of the 2015 edition.
Last year, Degenkolb missed out on defending his title after a training crash in January nearly severed his finger. This year, he says he's back on par with the other favourites such as Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) after a spring classics campaign that included a seventh in Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders, and a fifth in Gent-Wevelgem.
"Roubaix definitely closes the gap and brings me on the same level. There are no climbs in Paris-Roubaix. I have the power and the experience," Degenkolb said on Friday.
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Degenkolb will be supported by a strong Trek-Segafredo line-up, with young Belgian rider Jasper Stuyven taking a step back in the team's pecking order after disappointing results in the preceding spring classics.
Dirk Demol, the team's director sportif, is highly ambitious for Paris-Roubaix despite the departure of Fabian Cancellara. "With John, we've got a good favourite in our ranks. Fabian was in our team for five years and always rode for the win when he was fit. He had different qualities. John is a leader, too. He's straight-forward. I like to work with him. He was going very strong on the cobbles this morning," Demol said during a sit down in the Weinebrugge hotel in Bruges.
"I knew that Paris-Roubaix was the race that suited us the most. I'd be happy with a podium result but the goal is a victory. Before the season, we had high ambitions but that didn't work out just yet. The team is good, the form is good but there are a few guys a level above the others in those races," Demol said.
Stuyven relegated to support role
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