There are pros and cons to every change and development in life. Cycling, Simon Geschke says, is a much cleaner sport today than when he turned pro in 2009. It’s a lot more developed, advanced, and professional too. But there is a downside: “For me, the feeling is that the sport got less fun and there’s less fun between the riders,” the retiring German, 38, tells Rouleur. “It’s no secret the sport has gotten faster and faster – material, bikes, training and rider mentalities have changed with more altitude camps – but there are also less parties, less alcohol, less fun.
Don’t mistake Geschke for being a beer-guzzling athlete – he’s just pointing out the realities of the landscape today. “Everything's super serious: everyone’s under pressure for contracts; teams are under pressure with the UCI’s relegation system; sponsors need to be pleased. Of course, we enjoy racing at the Tour de France and the big Classics with all the attention and spectators, but fun is not the number one priority anymore. In my first years, we had endurance rides and did a little bit of intensity during the December training camps and then we would have some drinks every night. We wouldn’t get super drunk, but we’d stay up a while. We were bonding. Now in December we train super hard and maybe have a beer on one evening only. Everyone’s realised that if you want to stay on the high level, you can’t go out anymore. And, anyway, there’s no-one who will go out with you so you’re forced to stay in the room!”
During his 16 years as a professional that covered 20 Grand Tours – 12 of which were the Tour de France – Geschke built a name for himself as a reliable domestique for sprinters and climbers, as well as being a semi-regular presence in breakaways. He plans to stay in the sport now that he’s hung his racing wheels up, but not before the outgoing Cofidis rider allows himself time to reflect on his “successful career. I can be proud of a lot of results,” he smiles.
Success and regrets
Geschke turned pro with Skil-Shimano in 2009, the team he stayed with for the following decade, winning three races, steering Marcel Kittel to so many Tour de France victories, and aiding Tom Dumoulin in his quest to win the 2017 Giro d’Italia. “Everyone who starts cycling wants to win, but only 10% of riders, maybe less, are winning races regularly,” Geschke says. “I was not a rider who could sprint very well and I was not a world-class climber – I was somewhere in between. I got podiums in a couple of big races and top-10s in Amstel Gold and La Flèche Wallonne so those are results I am proud of. Winning for me was quite hard, but success is not always the number of victories you have. Success for me was also helping Marcel and Tom.”
His biggest crowning glory came in July 2015. “Winning a Tour de France stage is what everyone dreams of,” he says of his stage 17 breakaway win. “It’s the greatest achievement for any pro cyclist and it’s my stand out, personal highlight, the result I am most proud of.”
Simon Geschke in the polka-dot jersey during the 2022 Tour de France
But the Tour also played host to his lowest moment. In 2022, he had a comfortable lead in the King of the Mountains classification, only for Jonas Vingegaard to snatch the polka dot off him on the final day in the Pyrenees. “It was hugely disappointing and my feelings have never got much better,” he admits, casting his memory back to his uncontrollable tears on Hautacam. “Winning a jersey in the Tour de France is really hard and it was super negative to lose it. I wouldn’t say I had it on a silver platter but I definitely could have won it and should have.”
What happened? “If I had crossed the first climb of that day in third place, I would have earned enough points to win it. It was just that one little mistake,” he says. “If I could do that Tour again, I would win that jersey. I am only blaming myself because it was such a big chance. It’s something that even today is still really difficult because I would have been the first German to ever win it.”
A changing peloton
One of the most respected and likeable riders in the bunch, Geschke – who has been the peloton’s only vegan cyclist for many years – is one of a few riders who still remembers training without a power meter. “I had my first one in 2009 and it changed everything: it meant I could control training much better, see every pedal stroke,” he says. “Training has definitely changed a lot since then. There are lots of intense intervals to do now and sometimes it's overwhelming to keep up with it all. Over the years it got more complicated to ride together with teammates or other pros because everyone’s got their own intervals to do.” And there’s no such thing as sustained downtime. “You can’t have an easy month now: you need to be fit from December until the end of the season. At the start of my career, people were more laidback and it wasn’t necessary to be 100% focused the whole year, but nowadays everyone has a super high level at the Tour Down Under in January.”
Simon Geschke during the 2023 Tour de France
Race tactics have also undergone change. “You see a lot of races are raced differently now, and I have a feeling a lot of guys are happy to race for lower places because they know when [Tadej] Pogačar, [Jonas] Vingegaard, Remco [Evenepoel] are there, if they follow them they will blow up. It’s the same in the Classics with Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.” But the sport is in a better place. “You look at what was going on in 2009 with still some doping cases, today there are no scandals and I absolutely believe it’s not because riders are hiding [performance enhancing drugs] better, but because the sport is cleaner. The Tour is back on TV in Germany and cycling’s getting the attention it deserves because it’s a beautiful sport.”
Geschke and his wife are expecting their first child in the coming weeks but then after an extended break he expects his trademark beard to reappear in cycling’s circle. “I don’t think I want to be a DS, but cycling is my home, it’s the thing I know best. I’m not sure what team or function I want to do, but I know there will be opportunities.”
