Cycling: Germany's Cyclist of the Year is our German-speaking number 4 for the 2023 season. Nico Denz won, among other things, two stages at the Giro d'Italia. This gave him the final breakthrough.
Nico Denz impresses at the Giro d'Italia
For the first time in his career Nico Denz Voted Germany’s “Cyclist of the Year”. The 29-year-old made it to fourth place in our ranking. With his two stage victories at the Giro d'Italia, he not only won the hearts of many German fans. After narrowly missing out on a one-day success in Italy five years previously, in 2023 he achieved two successes within three days. On both the twelfth and the 14th sections, Nico Denz was able to prevail from a breakaway group. For him, the move to the German team Bora – hansgrohe was definitely worth it.
Loyal helper & winning driver
Nico Denz's development definitely does not meet the standard of a German driver. In 2013 he signed with the Chambéry Cyclisme Formation, the junior team of the French Equipe AG2R. There he was able to get his first taste of professional life as a trainee in 2014, but was not permanently signed for the coming season. It wasn't until August 2015 that the time had come. At the age of 21, he competed in his first WorldTour race. However, he was only able to really assert himself in France in the years that followed. In 2020 he took the step to Sunweb, later DSM, before moving to the German racing team Bora – hansgrohe for the 2023 season. And that was a match. He fits team boss Ralph Denk's philosophy like a glove. He appreciates that Nico Denz is always there for his teammates as a loyal helper - and on some days he can even become a winning driver himself.