John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) claimed stage 4 of the Vuelta a España from Mairena del Alcor to Córdoba after unleashing a furious sprint in the final 200 meters. The German won by several bike lengths, gauging his efforts perfectly on a day that saw a number of his sprint rivals suffer in the heat. Vicente Reynes (IAM Cycling) finished second with Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) doing enough to retain his leader’s jersey, taking in third.

Degenkolb survived the difficult terrain and the heat, and made the most of the hard work laid down by his teammates on the run into Córdoba. Giant-Shimano hit the front inside the final kilometre of the stage on a sweltering day in the saddle and when Reynes opened up his sprint for the line Degenkolb used it as the springboard to move clear. Behind him, there was little Matthews and the remaining sprinters could do, with Degenkolb finishing several bike lengths clear.

The win means that for the second year in a row Giant-Shimano have won stages in all three Grand Tours but for Degenkolb the win proved that the sprinter is back to his best.

The 25-year-old suffered badly on stage 3 but he was able to come back, with help from his team, and secure the win he was aiming for in Córdoba. The Vuelta is a race that had launched the German’s career, where he made his Grand Tour debut in 2011, and where, twelve months later he won five stages.

"I love the Vuelta a España and also the country. I love being in Spain. Yesterday was quite disappointing not holding on, it was too hard and too explosive. Today was better. I needed one or two days to adapt to the heat. My teammates were there to help me and motivate me, and it’s great to win another stage of the Vuelta.” Degenkolb said at the finish.

While the sprinters were split by the two categorised climbs in the final 60 kilometres, the overall contenders remained clustered together. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) launched an attack on the descent of the final climb but Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) all remain in contention.

How it unfolded

The stage itself was marked by the searing temperatures which peaked out at 40 degrees as the peloton made its way north. Not that the weather did anything to dissuade the early attacks with Francisco Javier Aramendia (Caja-Rural), Gert Joeaar (Cofidis), Sebastien Turgot (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Jimmy Engoulvent (Europcar) slipping clear in the opening stages.

After 20 kilometres of racing in oven-like conditions, the foursome had an advantage of close to five minutes and as they race wound its way further north, the gap ebbed and flowed as the peloton’s main concern shifted to hydration and race management.

Orica-GreenEdge had worked tirelessly on stage 3 in setting up Matthews for both the stage win and race lead, and the Australian outfit were not about to let all their hard work be undone.

They set tempo as the race headed towards the first climb of the day and with the gap ticking downwards the main GC contenders and their teams began to surface near the front of the peloton.

Turgot was the first rider to throw in the towel as the break moved onto the first categorised climb of the stage, leaving the three remaining breakaway riders with a slender 17-second advantage over the peloton.

With Caja Rural’s jersey dangerously close to disappearing from the view of the television cameras the Spanish squad sought action and it was left to Amets Txurruka to fly the flag. The Spaniard bridged up to the survivors in no time and quickly established a lead with Engoulvent.

Despite the fresh legs, Team Sky and Movistar pace setting meant that the duo stood little chance as the race began the final 36.9-kilometre circuit, which would decide the stage.

At the back of the peloton, a number of sprinters were already struggling with Cannondale’s Peter Sagan once again in difficulty. He wasn’t the only fast man under pressure with Jens Debusschere and Yauheni Hutarovich also losing ground.

On the second category climb after 130 kilometres of racing Team Sky and Movistar again assumed control of the race with Quintana and Froome aligned to the back of their teams’ trains. Contador danced on the pedals alongside them, giving his delicate knee another test.

With the break caught, Lampre-Merida’s Winner Anacona and Orica-GreenEdge’s Adam Yates jumped clear as the peloton crested the climb. They were joined by Europcar’s Romain Sicard and Valverde. The Movistar’s motives were not entirely clear given the distance between the climb and the finish but the group managed to establish a 20-second lead before organisation and an inevitable capture was made.

Inside the final ten kilometres, the weary sprint trains that remained pushed on. It looked as though Degenkolb would go up against Matthews, even if Lotto Belisol’s Adam Hansen tried to spoil the party with a late attack. With the finish line in sight, however, Degenkolb unleashed his sprint to take the stage.

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