Two from two for Degenkolb in Tour Méditerranéen

John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) showed he is more than just a pure sprinter, taking his second consecutive stage victory in the Tour Méditerranéen despite the presence of a hors category climb 25km from the line.

The German made the front peloton of around 60 riders which chased after Colombia's Fabio Duarte and Cyril Gautier (Europcar) over the top, and then on the descent caught the pair back.

Degenkolb then made up for a pair of second place finishes in the Étoile des Bessèges by laying claim to stage 2 over Yannick Martinez (Europcar) and securing another day in the leader's jersey.

It was another lovely day for a bicycle race in the south of France, but there was something looming ahead of the Tour Mediterranean peloton today: the Petit Galibier, the hors categorie ascent positioned just 25km from the finish.

Keen to get a head start on the day was Andrea Zordan (Androni Giocattoli) and Evaldas Siskevicius (La Pomme Marseille), but too many teams were anxious to be in the break. When Florian Vachon (Bregagne-Seche Environnement) bridged, the entire peloton was soon on their heels and the trio were caught.

Jussi Veikkanen (FDJ.fr) launched the counter-attack, and only Jarlinson Pantano (Colombia) was able to accompany him. The pair built up a huge lead in the subsequent 25km, and their gap continued to expand until it reached to 8 minutes with 100km to go.

The Giant-Shimano team of leader John Degenkolb finally amassed at the front, and with the second KOM on the horizon, they began to whittle the gap down steadily, halving the advantage of the leaders by the top of the climb.

Pantano won the sprints on both of the early category 3 climbs, while Veikkanen claimed the intermediate sprint, but on the hors categorie Petit Galibier their time in the spotlight was over.

Fabio Duarte (Colombia) counterattacked on the climb, going clear with Cyril Guatier (Europcar) over the top, while Pantano sealed the mountains classification lead with a third place on the ascent.

However, the pair were not able to stay clear on the descent, and the first peloton with Degenkolb was all back together for the run in to Rousset.

Inside the 10km to go banner, the resurgent Basque rider Romain Sicard (Europcar) decided to play his cards, and put in a stinging attack which quickly earned him a 10 second lead, but not much more. Yuri Trofimov (Katusha) then bridged across, making it two in front.

Two was not enough, however, and the first peloton with Degenkolb safely entrenched swept past, and the German easily claimed his second consecutive win.

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