Berlin – cycling oldie Christian Knees expects the coronavirus pandemic to have economic consequences for his sport in the next few years.
“There are one or two teams where salaries are now being cut. I think that the long-term damage in sports will only appear in the next few years, “said the 39-year-old Knees of the German Press Agency. Knees drives together with Tour de France winner Egan Bernal and ex-champions Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas in the British top racing team Ineos. So far, he has been spared cuts in wages.
Knees’ contract expires at the end of the season, it is still too early to talk about an extension. “If I had to retire from cycling at 39, it wouldn’t be nice. I still want to continue, but few can say that they made it to 39. Therefore, I am in a relatively comfortable situation, “said the native of Bonn.
Normally, Knees would have driven the spring classics in Belgium and France, and the Giro d’Italia in May would also have been an option. However, all races have been canceled due to the pandemic. Knees can still do street training, for many of his team-mates in southern Europe “a lot of role training is in order””.
Knees “cannot imagine that the Tour de France will take place in the summer, given the current situation”. Even a tour without a spectator is complicated. “How do you want to keep spectators away from the track for over 200 kilometers?” But it was okay to delay the decision. After all, another logistical masterpiece was to be mastered at the Olympic Games.
