Jonasrutsch shares the sporting destiny with many a classic hunter in the peloton.

"Why did I actually work my butt off all winter long?" he asks and can already smile about it.

A few weeks ago he felt far more serious.

He had invested a lot, had hoped for a lot and hardly anything came out of his races in the spring.

The spring classics are the preferred hunting ground of the Odenwald professional cyclist.

Hard, long and tiring one-day rides – that’s where Slip can best bring his strengths to the pedals.

But a corona infection at the worst possible time cost him the season opening races and even after “three days on which I felt bad” and the subsequent recovery,rutsch had to realize that “my body stayed in sick mode for even longer”.

Instead of competing for top positions as he had hoped, he took on volunteer duties in his EF Education-EasyPost team.

At the cycling monument Tour of Flanders, for example, only rank 89 jumped out.

Not enough for the growing demands of the 24-year-old, who knew how to impress on his debut in the Tour de France last summer.

Strong eleventh last year

And even more so with the postponed edition of Paris-Roubaix, his declared favorite race.

The 118th edition in October turned into an epic exchange of blows due to the weather, which made cycling history for everyone involved.

Slip showed an excellent performance.

There were countless slips and falls on the slippery wet or muddy cobblestones.

After that,rutsch gave up the protection of the slipstream behind competitors and used his power from the front.

In the end, the Erbacher didn't miss much on his memorable debut in the so-called "Hell of the North" to be able to intervene in the race finale in the fight for one of the most prestigious triumphs on the cycling calendar.

The greatest day in the saddle for him ever ended in a strong 11th place.

At the 119th edition of Paris-Roubaix on Easter Sunday,rutsch not only wants to save his spring, but crown it if possible.

“That has been my big goal since the winter.

I want to put everything I have into it,” says the cobblestone racing expert.

After the meager weeks before, even more so.

“I hope my body responded well to the excitement of racing.

Not everything was gone from the built-up form," said the Odenwalder.

His regular training partner John Degenkolb also looks forward to Paris-Roubaix every year.

The people of Oberursel also really appreciate jogging over dozens of kilometers of roughly paved country lanes in northern France.

With his victory there in 2015, Degenkolb secured his place in the annals of the traditional event.

"Queen of the Classics"

Slip will prepare for the “queen of the classics” this Wednesday with a Belgian one-day race – the Pfeil von Brabant – before things get serious.

Two weeks later, on May 1st,rutsch will make his professional debut for his American team at his home race Eschborn-Frankfurt.

And the next day, the Hessian is particularly looking forward to submitting his bachelor's thesis to the Hessian police in Wiesbaden as part of his studies.

For six years,rutsch has mastered the double burden of professional sport and training - now cycling is the order of the day.

For this he gives up his apartment in Wiesbaden and moves back to his native Odenwald because of the excellent training conditions.