Degenkolb down a finger but eyeing France

SANTA ROSA, California (VN) — A cylinder of stiff plastic forces John Degenkolb’s left index finger into a straight line, pointing forward. It doesn’t hurt much, but that finger can’t shift or brake, so his middle finger now does both. In the split-second world of sprinting, it’s enough to put him on the back foot, fighting for a top ten rather than victory.

“It’s about getting used to it and building an automation to use [my middle finger],” he said after Saturday’s penultimate stage of the Amgen Tour of California, where he finished eighth. “That’s important, because in a sprint I don’t have time to think about how I brake, you have to react in a flash and follow the instinct.”

The Tour of California is the German’s second race since the crash in January, which was caused by a British driver on the wrong side of the road and sent five Giant-Alpecin riders to the hospital. It’s the first race Degenkolb looks set to finish, and comes after the longest break of his career. He is both rebuilding his form and resetting muscle memory gained over more than a decade of bike racing. It’s a slow process, he said. But he’s moving forward.

“It’s the first …

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