John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) has the best memories of Paris-Roubaix. He won it in 2015 and, after having his career nearly ended in a road accident in January of the following year, his victory on the cobblestoned stage 9 of the Tour de France last year gave him back his confidence. Degenkolb describes that Tour victory, on a stage which covered much of the Paris-Roubaix course, as `a real game changer`, and he has remained healthy and uninjured since then. `It came at the end of a very hard part of my career and thatīs what made it so special. It was a very big relief; it was the first big victory for me since the accident. All the pressure, all the hard work youīve put in, you can finally leave that behind and that makes it very emotional,` the German said in a team press release. ADVERTISEMENT `I was always chasing back. Now, I really have the feeling that I am - condition and shape-wise - on a very stable base and that gives me a lot more confidence.` Paris-Roubaix is Degenkolb`s favourite race, and he noted his team have a special bike, the Trek Domane specifically designed for the cobbles of northern France. `That shows how important it is to get everything right,` he said. `Itīs one of the toughest races and itīs extremely special that we still race on exactly the same roads as 120 years ago.` Summing the race up, he added: `You can get a lot of bad luck, thatīs for sure, but thereīs one rule in this race: never give up.`
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