Degenkolb powers to sprint win

John Degenkolb (HTC-Highroad) showed yet again that he is far more than just a powerful young sprinter by winning stage two of the Criterium du Dauphine on a technical and tricky uphill finish in Lyon.

The 22-year-old German carefully followed French rivals Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) and Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis) on the fast hairpin corners and then took the perfect line through the final left turn before unleashing his sprint.

Dumoulin had been desperate to win in his home city but could only bow his head in disappointment as Degenkolb pointed to the sky to celebrate his first win in a World Tour race. He has only been a professional five months but has won five races.

Sébastien Hinault (AG2R-La Mondiale) finished third ahead of Paul Martens (Rabobank) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), while a split in the peloton saw the leading 14 riders gain six seconds on the rest of the peloton. Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) was last to finish in the same time as Degenkolb, one place behind Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), but Cadel Evans (BMC) lost some precious seconds.

Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Omega Pharma-Lotto) was caught up in a crash at the foot of the climb and finished 30 seconds down but was given the same time as Vinokourov and so remained second overall, 11 seconds down on Vinokourov. Wiggins is third, also at 11 seconds, with Evans fourth at 13 seconds.

Degenkolb has quickly become accustomed to winning and was second to Australia’s Michael Matthews in last year’s Under 23 world road race championship. Yet it was clear this win as a professional was special.

“It was a good stage for me. We saw it the (finish) before the race and said it was for me today. I’m so happy. It’s my first World Tour win,” he said immediately after his win.

“I’m young rider and this is my first year as a pro but it’s been a super start to my career. I’ve had four victories before this one. It’s a super start for me as a professional. I’m super happy.”

Degenkolb has quickly been dubbed the next Erik Zabel and even the saviour of German cycling. But he is wise and mature enough to keep his feet firmly clicked into his pedals and quickly stated he will not ride this year’s Tour de France.

“I'm too young and it's not good to make too fast a start, but maybe next year it'll be possible,” he said. “Guys like me and (HTC-Highroad teammate) Tony Martin are a new generation of young riders in Germany and hopefully we'll help bring cycling back to a new level in our country."

Thrilling finale

The 179km stage from Voiron to Lyon looked set to be a quiet day for the overall contenders at the Criterium du Dauphine, as they saved their legs for Wednesday’s 42.5km time trial in Grenoble. However the uphill finish and especially the twisting run-in to the foot of the climb inspired a thrilling finale.

Jérémy Roy (FDJ) was again the first to jump away but just like on Monday, he was quickly pulled back and then three riders went away. The trio were Jurgen Van de Walle (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Brice Feillu (Leopard-Trek) and Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank) – who was third in this year’s Paris-Roubaix.

Their lead reached close to five minutes after 50km but the peloton decided to keep them under control and the gap fell gradually as Lyon loomed on the horizon.

Strong side winds in the final 20km split the peloton into three and then two parts, sparking a final mad half hour of racing. Vinokourov and many others were up front but Wiggins and Evans both missed the split and their teams were forced to chase for 10 frantic kilometres. They got back on but Edvald Boasson Hagen (Team Sky) punctured during the chaos and lost 4:31 and any chance of a good overall performance in France.

Cofidis tried to set up Dumoulin on the final climb but the pocket rocket Frenchman was perhaps a little too keen to win at home. His teammates kept Thomas Voeckler in check when he attacked before a sweeping hairpin corner but Dumoulin then used up too much of his own energy to close the gap on his French rival and gave a perfect lead out to Degenkolb. He dived under him in the last corner and then opened his sprint, to take the biggest win of his prodigious professional career.

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