Degenkolb wins in Logroño

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John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) completed a hat-trick of victories at the Vuelta a España when he out-sprinted Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) in Logroño on stage 12.

The flat stage saw the peloton tackle eight laps of a flat, 20-kilometre circuit in the Rioja, and it had been billed beforehand as a head-to-head battle between Degenkolb and Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ.fr).

The anticipated duel never materialised, however, as Bouhanni was among the sprinters held up by a crash on the final bend that also saw Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) – who won the Vuelta Rioja here earlier this year – and Andrea Guardini (Astana) removed from contention.

Only fifteen riders succeeded in avoiding any delay, and Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida) attempted to take advantage of the confusion by opening the sprint from distance for his teammate Max Richeze.

Degenkolb, however, was able to rely on the support of teammate Ramon Sinkeldam in the finishing straight, and the Dutchman brought a degree of order to the sprint in the final 300 metres by piloting him to the front.

There was a degree of ineluctability about the outcome once Degenkolb opened the throttle inside the final 200 metres, although he did have to kick all the way to the line to fend off a stout challenge from Boonen, who is in the process of building his form for the world championships.

Another man with designs on a rainbow jersey in Ponferrada, Peter Sagan (Cannondale), showed his first signs of life at this Vuelta in the sprint, although he ultimately had to settle for fourth place behind his one-time teammate Jacopo Guarnieri (Astana).

In the general classification, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) retains the overall lead, 24 seconds ahead of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and 1:12 up on Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-QuickStep), while Chris Froome (Sky) remains in fourth, 1:24 down.

Fiesta: The Vuelta also rests

The circuit race around Logroño constituted a repeat of the formula adopted when the Vuelta last came to the town two years ago, when Degenkolb was also the winner in the bunch finish. Indeed, even the film of the stage followed the same template, as a lone attacker clipped away early on and the peloton – glad of a day of détente – gratefully left him to it.

Two years ago, it was Javier Chacon (Andalucia) who went on the offensive, this time around it was Matthias Krizek (Cannondale) who slipped away on the opening lap of racing. The Austrian’s maximum lead of nine minutes was a little short of the 12 that Chacon managed to build up in 2012, but the attitude in the bunch was similar: although Bouhanni’s FDJ.fr kept tabs on the lead, the pace only began to pick up in earnest deep inside the final 50 kilometres.

Prior to the start, the Vuelta’s technical director Paco Giner explained the thinking behind the stage, which he acknowledged would be welcomed almost as something of a recovery day by many in the peloton.

“Everybody needs to relax. It’s good to do that for this time of the year,” he said. “The season is long and there are many difficulties on the route. Sprinters deserve to have such a chance. People like it for the spectacle it delivers. Fiesta is part of La Vuelta.”

The festive spirit dissolved on the last two laps, however, as the sprinters’ teams – and FDJ in particular – set about the task of bringing back Krizek in earnest. With 30 kilometres remaining, his lead had dropped to 2:30, and a lap from the finish, it was shorn back to just 1:27.

Twelve kilometres from home, the tired Krizek was eventually swept up by the peloton and the stage was set for the sprint. The crash that saw Matthews fall and Bouhanni held up denied the expected grandstand finish, although there was no arguing that in Degenkolb, a marquee name had taken the spoils.

The biggest name of all at this Vuelta, Alberto Contador, was also prominent in the finale, as his Tinkoff-Saxo team set the pace on the front of the peloton for much of the final lap to keep the red jersey out of trouble. Those with designs on overall victory in Santiago, it seems, cannot allow themselves the luxury of a day of fiesta.

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