John Degenkolb (GER) has finally broken the deadlock and taken his first win of the 2014 season on stage 1 of the Tour Méditerranéen.
After going close on several occasions at the Étoile de Bessèges last week, Degenkolb was really motivated to get his first victory of the year and he made up for those disappointments here today.
The day’s breakaway went early on, formed of five riders, and Team Giant-Shimano immediately took things into their own hands showing confidence in Degenkolb for the sprint, and also to safely negotiate the crosswinds that were buffeting the peloton.
Even when the peloton splintered into several groups in the latter stages, the team remained focused and well represented at the front, then on the final lap everything came back together again for a bunch sprint.The team rallied around Degenkolb and, despite a late problem in the final 10km followed by a rapid chase back to the front Degenkolb was able to come through when it mattered, timing his sprint to perfection to take the victory and with it the leader’s jersey.
“It was really nice out there today, sunny and warm which makes a nice change to the recent weather,” said a relieved Degenkolb. “It was a long race and the guys rode great, especially Tom Peterson (USA) and Thierry Hupond (FRA) who were on the front for what felt like the whole day.
“They never really got much help from the other teams but were super strong. The win wouldn’t have been possible without their work.
“I had a mechanical with 10km to go and knew I had to fight to get back on as the guys had fought for me all day. It paid off at the end and it’s great to get the win.”
Team coach, Marc Reef (NED) said: “It’s great to kick off the race like this, and to continue the success that the team had last week. The guys were really strong today and I was really impressed by Tom Peterson and Thierry Hupond who did a great job to ride for over 140km on the front to keep the break in check and then bring the gap down before the other guys joined in to bring everything back together.
“They put John in a good position in the final kilometre and he did a great sprint to finish off all the hard work put in throughout the day.”
