LOGRONO, Spain (AP) — John Degenkolb sprinted to his second stage victory at the Spanish Vuelta Wednesday, while Joaquin Rodriguez maintained his overall lead after the fifth leg.
The Argos-Shimano cyclist burst over the finish ahead of Daniele Bennati of Italy and fellow German rider Gianni Meersman to cap a 104-mile journey that took 4 hours, 10 minutes, 37 seconds.
The looping ride around Logrono, in the heart of Spain’s La Rioja wine region, provided few changes to the overall leaderboard.
Rodriguez holds a 1-second advantage over Tour de France runner-up Christopher Froome of Sky and a 5-second lead over Alberto Contador of SaxoBank.
Rabobank’s Dutch pair Bauke Mollema and Robert Gesink were another 9 seconds behind Rodriguez, who considers Thursday’s mountain-top stage finish at Jaca an opportunity to strengthen his lead.
