Cycling: John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin) still managed to win the stage. The Frankfurter won the final stage in Madrid, Fabio Aru (Astana) didn't let the overall victory be taken away from him.
Consolation for the Giant-Alpecin team: After Tom Dumoulin had to give up the leader's red jersey in yesterday's penultimate stage, John Degenkolb ensured a conciliatory end to the Tour of Spain with his victory on the final stage. After exemplary preparatory work by his team, Degenkolb prevailed in a long sprint on the slightly uphill home stretch. Danny van Poppel (Trek Factory Racing) and Jean-Pierre Drucker (BMC Racing) in second and third were ultimately powerless in the face of the German's powerful start.
With his victory, Degenkolb was able to celebrate a sense of achievement at this year's Vuelta after he had lacked the necessary bit of luck up to that point. In the few sprint arrivals he was second twice, third once and fifth once. The victory should also give him more self-confidence with a view to the road world championships in two weeks in Richmond/USA. The Vuelta was the perfect preparation for that. “Of course you have to struggle over the mountains. But the kilometers of racing here save me the training. And the mountains in my legs will certainly help me in Richmond,” explained Degenkolb on the second rest day of the Vuelta.
A few seconds after Degenkolb, Fabio Aru rolled over the finish line jubilantly surrounded by his Astana teammates. The Italian who first appeared on the historic 20th stage had regained the red jersey of the overall leader, won a three-week tour for the first time. He didn't manage to win a stage, but he was the most consistent of the classification riders and was able to build on an impressive team strength.
Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) remained second in the overall standings, with Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) third on the podium. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) just missed out on the podium but can be pleased with the result given the illnesses that have plagued him throughout the Vuelta. Esteban Chaves (Orica - GreenEdge) completes the top five and could be a hot pick going forward - as could youngster Louis Meintjes (MTN-Qhubeka) who finished tenth.
The mountain classification was secured by Omar Fraile (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA), who wore the white and blue jersey of the best climber for the entire three weeks. In the points classification there was another change at the top on the last day: Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won the intermediate sprint of the day and thus took the green jersey off Joaquím Rodriguez in the last kilometers. He, in turn, can console himself as the winner of the combined ranking with the white jersey. As in the Tour de France, the Movistar team won the team classification. Tom Dumoulin was honored as the most combative driver.
In the coming days, Velomotion will look back in detail at the Tour of Spain.
TV tip: Best of Vuelta a España, Eurosport, Monday, September 14.09.2015, 18.30, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m
Final result stage 21 Vuelta a España 2015
1. | John Degenkolb | Giant-Alpecin | 02:34:13 |
2. | Danny van Poppel | Trek Factory Racing | |
3. | Jean Pierre Drucker | BMC Racing | |
4. | Daryl Impey | Orica GreenEdge | |
5. | Tosh van der Sande | Lotto Soudal | |
6. | Maximilian Richeze | Lampre Merida | |
7. | Nicholas Maes | Etixx QuickStep | |
8. | Kristian Sbaragli | MTN Qhubeka | |
9. | Kevin Reza | FDJ | |
10. | Tom van Asbroeck | LottoNL Jumbo |
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