After doing his best Peter Sagan impression for much of this Vuelta, John Degenkolb finally got his stage win on the last day of the race. Near misses, tiredness and a great deal of ultimately fruitless assistance for team-mate Tom Dumoulin and he finally got some reward.
At times, Degenkolb has been doing work in the mountains. Despite being Giant-Alpecin’s sprinter, it seems he’s also one of their best climbers, so he was put to work assisting Dumoulin however he could. Despite his occasionally fiery temper, the German is clearly no prima donna. All in all, he seems one of the good guys.
What’s next?
The World Championships starts this weekend. Time trials come first with the men’s road race a week on Sunday. It’s worth mentioning that the course should suit Degenkolb. For those of my nationality, Great Britain have picked a hefty classics team with Ben Swift the most likely team leader. Mark Cavendish also rides, but might not be up with the leaders come the finish.
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