"I don’t think anybody was really at fault" - No culprits in John Degenkolb's Paris-Roubaix crash, Fabian Cancellara argues
Cycling
John Degenkolb was reborn at Paris-Roubaix this weekend, but the dream ended in a nightmare as the 2015 winner crashed at Carrefour de l'Arbre. It was a tough watch, but even tougher situation to accept for the Team DSM who ended up finishing 7th. A lot of debate has taken place due to the nature of the crash, in which the German collided with Mathieu van der Poel.
"I was very happy to see him up there fighting for the win again and then I was really sorry to see how his challenge was ended by a crash;" Cancellara said in a column for Cyclingnews. "I don’t think anybody was really at fault, it was just one of those things that can happen at a race like Paris-Roubaix."
The incident took place in the final five-star sector of the race and as the riders in the leading group looked to avoid the cobbles, the two collided as there was no space for all riders. No penalizations were given, and no blame was attributed among the riders - with Alpecin-Deceuninck duo apologizing after the finish, as Degenkolb laid in tears inside the Velodrome.
"Mathieu wanted to try to attack just as Degenkolb was coming up, and they couldn’t avoid it," Cancellara, who has ridden on three occasions to victory over this sector, knows as well as anyone it's rough nature. "Mathieu, on the other hand, almost crashed again when he was by himself in front at Hem, but he managed to stay upright. A few millimetres can make all the difference."
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- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And we, what are we doing?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- And yet, it attracts people, even you. What’s more, it attracts the rival fanboys to fill cyberspace with endless pointless my hero is better than your hero blabla that’s all been heard before and only helps sell the site as an advertising platform. You know what the solution is but most can’t resist. No different than women who follow and discuss celebs through gossip magazines.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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"That's racing" 🗣 Heartbreak for @johndegenkolb at Paris-Roubaix - the former winner collapsed in tears at the finish line, but was consoled by Mathieu Van der Poel who apologised after the race 🤝 🎥 Go in-car with @TeamDSM 👇 _ 🇫🇷 #ParisRoubaix
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