Degenkolb gets home win in Vattenfall Cyclassics

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John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano) became the first German since Erik Zabel in 2001 to win the Vattenfall Cyclassics, the only World Tour race in his native Germany, when he beat André Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) and Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) in a bunch finish. It was Degenkolb’s second victory of the season after he won stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia.

A group of four riders formed the breakaway of the day. Michael Schwarzmann (Netapp-Endura), Julian Kern (Ag2r-la Mondiale), Garikoitz Bravo (Euskaltel) and Jonas Jörgensen (Saxo-Tinkoff) seemed to be in it for the long haul when they gained a a gap of over eight minutes. The Vattenfall Cyclassics, traditionally, a sprinter’s race where the breakaway is reeled in the last lap, threatened to offer a different scenario this time around.

60 kilometres from the finish a large group bridged to the leaders on the short but steep Waseberg climb. The sprinter teams had representation in the break, with Koen
de Kort there protecting the interests of Degenkolb’s Argos-Shimano squad. The Dutchman unfortunately crashed later in the race and broke his left collar bone. It’s the second time this year that De Kort has suffered the same injury, following the Tour of Qatar in February.

The MTN-Qhubeka team of Gerald Ciolek, and André Greipel’s Lotto-Belisol were not part of the break and so they were forced to take up the chase, and BMC were also very active as they worked for Norwegian champion Thor Hushovd.

The breakaway was reeled in 50 kilometres from the line, resulting in a flurry of new attacks. Manuele Boaro (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Belkin’s Rick Flens tried their luck, but they were not granted a large advantage by a vigilant peloton.

On the penultimate climb of the Waseberg, Sep Vanmarcke attacked and the Paris-Roubaix runner-up was joined by three other strongmen: Wouter Mol (Vacansoleil-DCM), Ian Stannard (Sky) and Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-QuickStep). Terpstra had another dig on the final haul up the Waseberg climb but with 8 kilometres to go, he was recaptured and a bunch sprint was inevitable.

In the end, Degenkolb proved the fastest sprinter, Greipel who was boxed in at 300 metres from the line, while Kristoff took third.

Degenkolb praised the work of his Argos-Shimano teammates. Though the race was 246 kilometres long, he felt good throughout the day. “If the sprint was after 180km I would not have been able to win, but after such an exhausting long race I can do this,” he said.

In his specialty, a sprint at the end of a long day of racing, Degenkolb held off Greipel. “In the final metres I followed my instinct and went with 220m to go and it was just the right time for me to hold on and beat Greipel,” he said.

Winning in his native Germany meant that the triumph was even more valuable to Degenkolb. “This is a big highlight for me, winning one of the biggest races in my own country means a lot to me.”

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