Vuelta Stage 4: Degenkolb Crushes All Comers

It's hot in Spain. You might have heard this before, even in prior Vueltas, but it's HOT. Paired with two decently sized climbs along the route, the conditions thinned the peloton down to roughly 50 riders at the finish, a mixture of general classification riders, roulers, and heartier sprinters, including current red jersey Michael Matthews and John Degenkolb. With all the more pure fast men dispatched before the line, the stage looked like a duel between these two, and that's exactly what we were treated to in the final 200 meters.

Adam Hansen jumped early at roughly 1700 meters to go as the Orica-GreenEDGE leadout faltered. His advantage was decent, but with Giant-Shimano waiting in the wings waiting to launch their leadout, the odds never looked good for the Lotto Belisol rider and he was duly caught inside the final 500 meters. Dan Martin - second yesterday and containing a surprisingly fast kick in those climber legs of his - followed an accelerating Tony Martin at that point, a move that put him in an unenviable first wheel at 300 meters to go. While Martin hesitated, Vicente Reynès of IAM Cycling hit out at 300 meters. However, Degenkolb was not to be denied and easily easily outpaced everyone else to win by bike lengths. Predictable, but still fun to watch.

Results:

Overall Classification: