Degenkolb wins stage 5 of the Vuelta a Espana

John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) survived the heat to take his second consecutive stage victory at the Vuelta a España, much to the displeasure of Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ.fr). The German rider beat Bouhanni and Moreno Hofland (Belkin) in the chaotic uphill finish in Ronda.

BMC led the peloton under the flamme rouge, in an attempt to set up Philippe Gilbert. As the road pitched back up again towards the finish, Gilbert was released towards the line.

Giant-Shimano looked like they had got it wrong when Degenkolb’s lead-out man Koen de Kort jumped off the front with two hundred metres to go. However, resplendent in the green jersey, Degenkolb emerged from the centre of the peloton to pass a lagging Philippe Gilbert (BMC).

Stage two winner Bouhanni attempted to go up the inside but found himself boxed in between the Giant-Shimano rider and the fan-lined barriers. The Frenchman threw his arm up, but in anger rather than celebration, complaining that Degenkolb had diverted from his line. Bouhanni would appeal to the race jury at the finish, but to no avail and Degenkolb was declared the winner. Hofland came in just behind to round out the top three.

Michael Matthews failed to feature in the sprint but extended his lead over second place Nairo Quintana (Movistar) to secure another day in red.

How it unfolded

If you’d had the inclination, you probably could have cooked your dinner on the Spanish tarmac as, for the fifth stage in a row, the temperatures wreaked havoc on the peloton. Amazingly, considering the heat, all 198 riders lined up at the start. Despite having a good day in the break yesterday, Jimmy Engoulvent (Europcar) began the day with stitches in his hand after he fell down the stairs in the Europcar bus.

Only two men were eager enough to go on the attack. Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Pim Ligthart (Lotto-Belisol) escaped early on. Once again, the pace in the peloton - and even the break - was slow with the heat making almost any sort of effort exhausting.

Trips to the medical car for sun cream were a regular sight in the peloton, as the lightweight summer jerseys gave little protection from the sun’s rays. After building up a maximum lead of 2:36, Ligthart found himself going it alone when a mechanical problem ended the day for Martin.

Chris Froome sparked some excitement at the second intermediate check, when the Sky rider broke ranks. Led by his teammate Christian Knees, Froome caught FDJ.fr by surprise as they were lining Nacer Bouhanni up for a run at the points available at the sprint. The result was two bonus seconds for Froome and showed that the former Vuelta podium finisher is ready to take any available opportunity to make time on his rivals. It may also reveal a lack of certainty in his ability to put the necessary time into the likes of Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador in the time trials.

Alone and tired, Ligthart saw his lead demolished before the only classified climb of the day. With 40 kilometres to go, he had almost two minutes on the peloton, but as the wind changed direction Tinkoff-Saxo saw their chance to dispense with a few riders. The team in blue and yellow amassed on the front and caused a split in the bunch, catching out the likes of Julian Arredondo (Trek Factory Racing), and Ryder Hesjedal and Dan Martin (both Garmin-Sharp).

Martin did manage to salvage something for Garmin when he bridged the gap along with several others. The panic was evident in the second group, as riders tried to organise a chase. However, most of the big GC favourites made the cut. Three men who made it safely into the front group were winners of the previous three stages: Bouhanni, Matthews and Degenkolb, ensuring a hotly contested sprint finish.

As the peloton hit the lower slopes of the Puerto El Saltillo, the chasing group were trailing by almost a minute and several riders were waving their general classification hopes goodbye.

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