André Greipel leaves nothing to chance. At the Tour de France, the new national road bike coach met his riders in person right at the start in Bilbao. He chose to travel earlier to the Super World Championships in Glasgow to inspect the track. “I used to be someone who complained. Now I have the chance to do things differently and to communicate differently, which used to be very difficult,” said Greipel of the German Press Agency.
On Sunday, the most successful German professional cyclist with 158 victories will be at the command post for the first time in the men’s World Cup road race. A good two years after the end of his career, the native of Rostock is finally making the change of sides. He, who had been chasing the first German World Cup title since 1966 (Rudi Altig) for years and who had ensured the last German World Cup medal in 2011 with bronze in Copenhagen. “There were enough chances for the title. I can only look ahead and try to do things better,” says the 41-year-old in retrospect.
With Greipel, the Federation of German Cyclists gets a man of clear words. “The best solution”, as BDR Vice President Marcus Burghardt finds: “André not only brings in incredible experience, he is also not tied to any team and can therefore act freely and neutrally.”
Greipel: “We have very good racing drivers”
He managed the role change well, says Greipel, who won a total of 22 stages in major tours in his 17 years as a professional. He got eleven of them at the Tour de France. “I think I’ve settled into normal life well,” said the father of two. “You don’t have this physical exertion anymore, but mentally you’re broken sometimes.”
He used to have to put more than 1500 watts on the pedals in the sprints, but now clever tactical instructions are required in the team car. But he doesn’t want to dream of the title. His team around the two classic car specialists Nils Politt and John Degenkolb belong to the underdogs. A top ten placement should be possible.
In any case, Greipel does not see German cycling as badly positioned, even if the Tour did not result in a stage win for the second time in a row and this time only seven riders were at the start. “You always look at the world rankings, but in my opinion that’s misleading because we have very good racers who take on their tasks in their teams,” says Greipel. Also in the sprint, which is a matter of the heart for Greipel, Germany still has two professional cyclists in Phil Bauhaus and Pascal Ackermann. He’s more worried about the youngsters.
Greipel has no great influence on that. His employment at BDR is on a fee basis for major events such as the World Cup, European Championships or the Olympics. “It’s not a time-consuming job,” he emphasizes. But it doesn’t have to. Greipel enjoys the free time he hasn’t had in almost two decades. “It’s really nice to be at home more often and to wake up in your own bed more often,” says the sprinter, who was once feared as a gorilla. And he didn’t put his racing bike in the corner either. Greipel still completes 200 to 300 kilometers a week.
