Simon Geschke is beloved at Team Sunweb for his beard and his fun-loving personality. But we should not forget that Geschke is also one of the hardest men out there on a bike. He comes from a bike racing family and his attitude is “go hard, or go home”. It was this mental strength that helped him to his emotional Tour de France stage victory in 2015.
They called him Tutti
Simon grew up with cycling. His father Jürgen was an accomplished Olympic track cyclist. Jürgen Geschke’s nickname was ‘Tutti’, which was given to him by the supporters of his cycling club TSC Berlin because he not only won everything, but also had Italian roots through his grandparents (tutti is Italian for ‘all’). Simon’s father clearly inspired his son to do great things on a bike.
Simon’s father, Jürgen Geschke (left) was an accomplished East German track sprinter, pictured here in Berlin in 1975. Two years later he was amateur sprint World Champion. Photo: German Federal Archive
Tour stage victory
Simon Geschke, 32, is getting stronger and stronger in the Tour de France 2018. He is a key rider for Team Sunweb, the team in which (despite changing sponsors) he has spent his entire professional career. He rode his biggest moment so far on the bike during the Tour de France in 2015. Geschke placed a heroic lone attack 48 kilometres away from the finish line and made it stick. It was a very emotional moment and a great victory.
Geschke was also a member of the winning team during the 100th edition of the Giro d’Italia, when Tom Dumoulin’s famous victory put Team Sunweb at the summit of world cycling. “The Giro d’Italia was amazing and we had a lot of fun together. Everything just fitted well and Tom’s win was so cool,” he recalls.
More than a cyclist
Although he is a serious professional cyclist, Simon Geschke is also aware that there is more to life that just cycling. When he’s not on the bike he has a variety of other interests. He plays guitar, markets his own brand of beard balm, rides a motorcycle and is a surfer. He also doesn’t eat meat, which means Team Sunweb’s nutritionists add other forms of protein to his race diet. #notalotofpeopleknowthis