Paris-Roubaix revelation confides to have encountered "some of my worst days ever" in a rollercoaster season

With 67 racedays, Jonas Rutsch's season was one that didn't stand out in terms of extensiveness, but there's certainly a story to be told. Early into the year, Rutsch lived one of his best days on the bike. When he joined the breakaway on the morning of Paris-Roubaix, he could only dream of crossing the finish line in 6th place some 5 hours down the road. With brand new motivation, the German rider dove into training, but little did he knew that the rest of the year was going to be anything but kind to him.

Rutsch was no rookie heading into the Tour de France in July, although the latest of his two participations dates back to 2022. But the cycling gods were going to make sure the 27-year-old would not forget his third time at Grande Boucle. The first blow came in stage 8. Rutsch hit the deck alongside Einer Rubio with some 20 kilometers to go. While the Colombian continued without any visible issues, the German had a hard time getting back into the saddle and eventually crossed the finish line dead last, more than 6 minutes off the back.

Being the warrior he is, Rutsch continued on, only to get struck by gastrointestinal problems on stage 14, one of the hardest days on the entire race.

To top the season off, Rutsch was nominated for the World Championships in Kigali, for the first time in his career. Of course he would go. But the East African expedition turned out to be a nightmare due to severe stomach problems. Besides an unplanned weight loss, it made any further racing almost unbearable. "2025 really did include some of the worst days I've ever experienced on a bike," Rutsch tells Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview.

Halfway into 2025, all the rumours started to point to the inevitable - that Lotto and Intermarché - Wanty won't continue as two separate WorldTour teams. That meant that a lot of staff - riders and personnel - would lose job. And although Rutsch was mostly reaffirmed of his future relatively early, he still felt the uncertainty just like everyone else:

"Instead of imagining all the possible scenarios, I was focused only on what actually happens and what I can influence," Rutsch shared his secret to maintaining sanity in the hard times.

Eventually, the situation settled at 19 of the 30 riders of Lotto-Intermarché coming from Lotto (3 from development team), 10 from Intermarché - Wanty (2 from development team) and 1 newcomer in Australian Matthew Fox who has been on Lotto's trainee programme since this August.

"It's much more complicated than a normal team change. Because two existing structures have to find common ground – everything is duplicated. Along with the things that work, problems also come from both sides. But after the first team camps, I'm positively surprised by the atmosphere and spirit," says Rutsch, whose contract with the new team is still valid for another season.

The 2026 season of Rutsch, this time in new-old colours, will take off early, already in January with the block of racing centered around the Tour Down Under. Afterwards, he'll travel to altitude camp to prepare for the main block of Classics, starting at Omloop Nieuwsblad and ending with Paris-Roubaix.

Afterwards? Rutsch would like to "see a different Grand Tour", as he never participated in either the Giro or La Vuelta in his career so far. Tour, after the hellish 2025 experience, is not exactly high on his wishlist for the time being.