Vuelta a Espana: Degenkolb wins final stage in Madrid

John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) won the concluding stage of the Vuelta a Espana in a sprint finish while Fabio Aru (Astana) enjoyed an untroubled evening on the finishing circuit in Madrid to seal final overall victory.

Victory for Degenkolb put a different slant on his Vuelta after a series of near misses earlier in the race, and it also offered consolation of sorts to his Giant-Alpecin team after a traumatic afternoon in the Sierras of Madrid the previous afternoon.

Tom Dumoulin, so impressive for so long in this Vuelta, lost his grip on the overall lead on the Puerto de la Morcuera and ultimately slipped to sixth place on general classification, but the Dutchman was to the fore in the finale here as Giant-Alpecin worked to set up the sprint finish.

The usual festive atmosphere en route to Madrid was broken up only by the intermediate sprint on the second passage through the finish line, where Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) slipped away to claim the points. That was enough to see him divest his rival Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) of the green jersey as the Catalan had suffered a puncture ahead of the sprint.

A group of six escapees ghosted clear soon afterwards, though Ben King (Cannondale-Garmin), Matteo Montaguti (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Omar Fraile (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Laurent Pichon (FDJ), Carlos Verona (Etixx-Quick Step) and Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) were never able to gain more than 30 seconds on the peloton.

The sextet was swept up on the penultimate lap, and late attacks from Iljo Keisse (Etixx-QuickStep) and Alexis Gougeard (Ag2r-La Mondiale) couldn’t prevent the inevitable bunch finish, as Trek, Lampre-Merida, BMC and Orica GreenEdge all made contributions on the front.

Giant-Alpecin took over in the final 1500 metres, providing a pitch perfect lead-out for Degenkolb. At first glance, it appeared as though the German had opened his sprint too soon, but he had more than enough in the tank to kick again and held off Danny van Poppel (Trek) by two bike lengths, while Jean-Pierre Drucker (BMC) took third.

“The whole world saw we were giving everything to defend that jersey and in the end we failed, we lost the jersey and the podium too, and that was a huge disappointment for the team. We were all upset after the stage. I had to try very hard to get the guys mentally prepared for a sprint today,” said Degenkolb, who won the corresponding stage in 2012.

“I love this parcours and this circuit, and I had a great leadout today. The emotions are gone from zero to 100 now, and we can go home with positive feelings because this was still an awesome Vuelta, with 6th place overall and three stage wins for the team.”

Dumoulin, too, was able to put a brave face on his disappointment. After receiving the prize for the Vuelta’s most combative rider on the podium on the Plaza de Cibeles – the traditional congregation point for Real Madrid fans after major victories – Dumoulin paid tribute to Degenkolb. “I cannot be unhappy right now,” he said. “We won the stage and John deserved this victory because he worked so hard for me over the last three weeks, he made efforts that normally sprinters would never do. No, I cannot be unhappy today.”

All about Aru

The night belonged to Fabio Aru, however, who finished safely at the rear of the peloton – conceding a handful of seconds in the process – to claim his first Grand Tour victory at just 25 years of age.

The Sardinian finishes the Vuelta 57 seconds clear of Rodriguez, while Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) takes third, a further 12 seconds back. Though pre-race favourite Nairo Quintana (Movistar) enjoyed his by-now traditional third week bounce, he had to settle for fourth place after faltering on the road to Andorra on stage 11.

Aru crossed the line in the company of his Astana teammates, a major success at the end of a troubled campaign for the Kazakhstani outfit, which risked losing its WorldTour status in the spring due to the spate of positive tests on the team at the end of last year.

This Vuelta, too, was not without its difficulties, not least when Vincenzo Nibali was expelled from the race on the opening road stage for accepting a tow from a team car, while Aru’s confidant Paolo Tiralongo was forced out by the injuries he picked up in a crash on the same stage.

The team’s fortunes looked to turn in Andorra, where Mikel Landa took stage honours and Aru moved into the red jersey temporarily, only for Dumoulin to prove a tougher out than anyone anticipated. The Dutchman led Aru by 3 seconds after the Burgos time trial and when he doubled that lead in Avila on Friday, it felt as though the balance was tipping in his favour.

The startling strength in depth of the Astana squad was to win out, however, as the forcing of Landa, Dario Cataldo and Aru himself finally broke Dumoulin on the penultimate stage in the Sierras of Madrid. After betraying obvious signs of tension for most of the final week, Aru could finally allow himself to smile.

“Yesterday’s stage was the most emotional one for me because we did an amazing job as a team and we showed that we were really united,” Aru said as darkness fell over Madrid on Sunday night. “Today I realised a dream, I’m very emotional, very proud. I have to thank my teammates, they always believed in me and I dedicate this win to them.” 

Full Results

Sprint 1, Segundo Paso Por Linea De Meta - 45.6km

Finish

Teams Classification

Final General Classification

Points Classification

Mountains Classification

Combined Classification

Teams Classification