Degenkolb has been linked to Skil-Shimano and on Tuesday the team’s manager Iwan Spekenbrink, told Cyclingnews that any official announcement would be made through official channels and at the appropriate time. The 22 year-old German sprinter joined HTC-Highroad this year and has won five races, including two stages at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
We understand that the rider’s future will be finalised in the coming weeks with an announcement made on the first rest day at the Vuelta Espana.
“John has decided about his future and I hope we can sign a contract in the next two weeks. At the moment there are just a few little things that we need to agree on with the new team. No contract has been signed just yet but he’s made a decision on where he wants to go so in my opinion it’s all settled,” Werner told Cyclingnews.
Werner also represents both Marcel Kittel and Tony Martin. Kittel is already part of Skil-Shimano and will ride the Vuelta, while Martin is currently on the market after the HTC-Highroad team released their riders after failing to find a new sponsor.
On Tuesday Cyclingnews also reported that Martin was in negotiations with Skil, something Werner confirmed.
“Things a little bit more difficult with Tony. There are more teams interested in him but I think that he’s looking between two or three teams but he needs to make a decision in the next few days.”
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When asked if Degenkolb and Martin could be teammates in 2012, Werner remained coy but would not rule out the possibility.
“Maybe. Many things are possible and we’ve talked to the same team for both Tony and John but for Tony it’s important that the time trial equipment is the best. It’s possible that they could both ride on the same team next year but it’s also possible that both go to different teams next year.”
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
