Watching Marcel Kittel soar away from the rest of the field in Bergerac for his fourth victory of this Tour de France, there was the feeling that there were two different races taking place. According to John Degenkolb, who mopped up the remains a bike length behind his compatriot, you could make that two different planets.
"He was unbeatable today," Degenkolb told reporters after a warm-down outside the Trek-Segafredo team bus.
"He's just super talented, and at the moment he's just very very good. At the moment I don't really see someone who can beat him man against man."
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Degenkolb, still in the hunt for a first stage win at the Tour de France, could only raise his tally of runner-up finishes to six. In the end, though, there was hardly a hint of disappointment. As he explained, such was the strength of Kittel, it was a small victory simply to remain in his slipstream.
"Going into the last kilometre I thought it was over, but then a small miracle happened, with Marcel overtaking me on the right side, and I could follow his wheel. I had to do a full sprint just to stay in the slipstream. That's what gave me the opportunity to get second in the end," said the Trek-Segafredo rider.
Despite the gulf in class, the Bergerac sprint gives Degenkolb a timely boost in what has been a trying Tour. A fifth place in Nuits-Saint-Georges was his best previous result in an opening week replete with sprint opportunities. He has been affected by a shoulder injury he sustained in the stage 3 crash that saw both Peter Sagan and Mark Cavendish exit the race, albeit for different reasons.
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