Degenkolb takes fifth Vuelta stage win in Madrid

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John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano) won the final stage of the 2012 Vuelta a España from Cercedilla to Madrid to take his fifth win on the race. The German sprinter beat Ella Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Daniele Bennati (RadioShack-Nissan) on the streets of the Spanish capital to bring down the curtain on the final grand tour of the season.

Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank Tinkoff Bank) crossed the line safely to win the Vuelta, less then two month after finishing his suspension for a doping infraction. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) rounded out the podium. Valverde finished in sixth place on the stage to snatch the points jersey of Rodriguez’s shoulders. Austalia’s Simon Clarke (ORICA-GreenEdge) had already claimed the king of the mountains competition on stage 20. The same fate had befallen Rodriguez last year when Bauke Mollema (Rabobank) won the jersey on the final day in Madrid.

But the stage had its first moment of poignancy far on its entry to the Spanish capital when David Moncoutié (Cofidis) and Grischa Niermann (Rabobank) were allowed to drift off the front of the bunch and take the first intermediate sprint.

Both riders are set to hang up their wheels at the end of the race after long careers dating back to 1997 and 1999 respectively, and in both cases the riders have stayed loyal to their teams throughout. There may have not have been a stage win or a spectacular ending for either but the dignified salute from the peloton was a deserved moment for both men.

Alberto Contador and his Saxo Bank team, with red handlebar tape to commemorate the Spaniard’s win, were present on the front during the opening stages of the race too, with the first hour of racing completed at a leisurely pace of under 35kph.

That all changed with the outskirts of Madrid on the horizon. A number of teams had reached the final stage with little to show for the three-week campaign and with one final opportunity there was no surprise when a six-man group escaped during the opening lap in the capital.

Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM), Kevin Seeldrayers (Astana), Sergio Carrasco (Andalucia), Javier Chacon (Andalucia), Mikel Astarloza (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Francisco Aramendia (Caja Rural) were the men who attacked but with so little room to manoeuvre and still so much to play for, they were unable to carve out anything over 20 seconds.

Behind them, Saxo-Bank marshalled the field in order to keep Alberto Contador out of trouble, while the sprinters’ teams huddled in the wings. A number of sprinters had made it all the way to Madrid without a stage win, with Ben Swift (Team Sky) and Allan Davis (ORICA-GreenEdge) the highest profile of the lot.

John Degenkolb’s four stage wins in the race before today’s action meant that Argos-Shimano wanted to leave the race with a bang and the Dutch team were the first sprinters’ team to move to the front in the closing laps. They were joined by Sky, yet to win a stage in this year’s race, who were hoping to guide Swift to a much-needed win. The injection of pace was enough to sweep up the last desperate aggression from the break.

Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale), also looking for his first stage win, was in a similar position to Swift and Davis and inside the final 5 kilometres it was Liquigas who began their lead out duties at the front of the peloton. A kilometre later, Argos forced their way through the middle of the field and inside the final 1000 meters Bennati also moved into contention.

But Degenkolb has been not just been the fastest sprinter in this year's race, he's also enjoyed the benefits of the best-drilled lead out train. While Orica-GreenEdge looked scattered and Sky forlorn when Swift found himself out of position, the German made it look easy, his final lead out man peeling off inside the final 200 meters. From there, despite the best efforts of Viviani and Bennati, there was little chance of Degenkolb wilting.

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