John Degenkolb

John (Dege) Degenkolb comes to Trek-Segafredo after five years with team Giant. John has won Gent-Wevelgem, Paris-Bourges, Paris-Tours, the Vattenfall Cyclassics and notched up stage wins in the Vuelta a España, the Giro d’Italia, Critérium du Dauphiné and Paris-Nice. His biggest accolades came in 2015 when he captured two of cycling's biggest one-day races, Milan-Sanremo and Paris-Roubaix.

Early in 2016, a tragic training accident cut his season short, causing him to miss the spring classics. After a lengthy rehabilitation, John began competing again and finally found his racing legs back at the end of the season. The accident was a huge setback but gave John time to pause, reflect, and think about his future, which led him to Trek-Segafredo: a strong Classics team where he knew many riders and staff and felt immediately at home.

John was introduced to cycling by his father, also a fervent competitor. At age eight he participated in his first race and won the short three-kilometer event, a moment of no-return. John counts 2001 as his first real season – he was 11 - and it was a matter of when, not if, he turned pro, which happened at the end of his under-23 years. He signed a pro contract with HTC in 2011 and the American registered UCI team was a great fit: John won a handful of races in his neo-pro season. When HTC ended its sponsorship, he joined Giant where he remained through 2016.

John's targets for 2017 are simple: Milan-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix, and the Tour of Flanders for his spring campaign, the Tour de France - which starts in Germany - and the World Championships in Norway at season end. Of the three Monuments, Paris-Roubaix tops his list, a race he has watched since a boy and its storied history and toughness have always fascinated him.

John spends his free time with his wife and two-year-old son and, when he can fit it in, loves to ride his motorbike.