Degenkolb takes his fourth stage win at Vuelta

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John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) handily won the Vuelta a España’s stage 17 sprint into A Coruña, despite a disorganized final kilometer of racing.

After a long-range breakaway, two riders — Elia Favilli (Lampre-Merida) and Rohan Dennis (BMC) remained out front in the stage’s finale.

They were brought back within the final kilometer of racing. From there, Degenkolb expertly surfed wheels and found the right opening to uncork his sprint with only a few hundred meters to go.

Though Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) challenged on the German’s right side, Degenkolb would not be denied his fourth stage win of the 2014 Vuelta.

Five-man breakaway

With a lumpy 190.7-kilometer stage ahead, a group of five made the breakaway move.

Lluis Mas Bonet (Caja Rural), Favilli, Daniel Teklehaymanot (MTN-Qhubeka), Dennis, and Bob Jungels (Trek Factory Racing) were all in the mix.

The peloton gave the break a bit of leash, but never more than about four minutes.

With 10 kilometers to go, cooperation broke down in the break. Dennis, Favilli, and Jungels got away. At that point, the gap had fallen to under one minute.

With 8.9km to go, Guillaume Levarlet (Cofidis) and Johan Le Bon (FDJ.fr) made a move, escaping briefly from the peloton. However, their attempt to bridge amounted to nothing.

With five kilometers left, Sky was in control at the front of the bunch, with Peter Kennaugh driving the pace.

Dennis and Favilli’s desperation move

Entering the final kilometers, the three leaders were tantalizingly close to the field.

The break dangled off the front with 1.5km left.

Then, Dennis and Favilli went all in, making a final attack. Dennis put in a huge turn of speed, then Favilli pulled through.

However, the duo was caught in finale.

Lampre-Merida led out a markedly disorganized sprint.

As the bunch fanned across the road in the last few hundred meters, Degenkolb emerged from the group, sprinting side-by-side with Matthews.

Degenkolb, the green jersey-wearer, would not be denied, and outsprinted the young Austrailian. Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) finished third, indicating his form ahead of world championships.

The overall standings remain unchanged after the day’s sprint stage.

Thursday, the Vuelta returns to the mountains with a 157km stage from A Estrada to Monte Castrove. Meis. The peloton will face two category 2 climbs in the final 30 kilometers, one of which offers a summit finish.

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