Germany’s Degenkolb wins his second stage of the Tour de l’Avenir

Germany’s John Degenkolb on Friday won his second stage of the 2010 Tour de l’Avenir, a 153km transitional stage between Vals les Bains and Loriol sur Drôme. Belgium’s Yannick Eijssen retains the yellow jersey.

The day’s stage included two climbs before a long descent into the valley of the Rhone and the finish. It promised a somewhat quiet day for the GC hopefuls ahead of the race’s final weekend in the Alps.

A group of five including Degenkold took off about 34 kilometers into the stage and had a gap of about 1:20 at the 84km mark, when a fallen tree on the course forced organizers to neutralize the race. After the re-start, the breakaway expanded its lead, and after a torrid final descent, the break’s five remaining riders duked it out in the final kilometer. Degenkold took the sprint and the five came in about 38 seconds ahead of the main pack.

Up next, Saturday’s 204km stage from lans to Risoul includes six categorized climbs, including the cat. 1 climb to the finish. Sunday’s concluding stage is a 13.5km uphill time trial from Guillestre to Risoul.

Stage:

• 1. John Degenkolb, Allemagne , in 4h 01′ 13
• 2. Jesus Herrada Lopez, Espagne , at s.t.
• 3. Nelson Oliveira, Portugal, at 00:01
• 4. Benjamin King, Australie, at 00:01
• 5. Jan Tratnik, Slovenie, at 00:01
• Complete results

GC:

• 1. Yannick Eijssen, Belgique , in 20h 29′ 58
• 2. Romain Bardet, France B , at :17
• 3. Jarlinson Pantano Gomez, Colombie, at 00:17
• 4. David Rosch, Allemagne, at 00:45
• 5. Jelte Slagter Tom, Pays-Bas, at 00:54
• Complete results