John Degenkolb continued where he left off two years ago when he won today's stage of the Vuelta a Espana to make it two in a row. The German refused Nacer Bouhanni's complaint that he had done an irregular sprint.

After finally getting his name on the winner’s sheet yesterday, John Degenkolb has today made it two stage wins in two on stage five. Degenkolb powered up the tough finishing ramp after a strong lead-out from Koen De Kort, holding off all challenges to take his second stage of the race.

With the stage win, Degenkolb also moves into the lead in the points classification.

Two riders attacked to form the day’s breakaway meaning that the chase behind was fairly steady, and when the two became just one mid-way through the stage things got even steadier. Tobias Ludvigsson spent a lot of the day sharing the pace making duties on the front of the peloton, before the race exploded under the impetus of Saxo – Tinkoff in crosswinds.

The team had a few mis-haps during the stage before this with De Kort and Johannes Fröhlinger coming down in an early crash, then Lawson Craddock also coming down later in the day. However all three were able to get back up and carry on without any problems.

After the race split, the peloton broke into three distinct groups, with Degenkolb making the front selection together with De Kort and Ludvigsson. The front group swelled with the addition of the second, under the impetus of the team to bring Barguil back to the front, but the third would never make it back to the front of the race.

The situation didn’t change much in the final stages of the race as the front bunch raced towards the finish in Ronda, onto the uphill drag to finish of over 3% gradient.

Degenkolb had Barguil and De Kort for support and Barguil did the first job of bringing the other two into position for the sprint.

De Kort then gave a huge effort to launch the sprint, initially pulling away from the front but regaining himself and continuing his effort with Degenkolb a few wheels behind. Degenkolb was able to pull out and give everything to the line and despite a hard fight with riders coming up behind he was able to hold on to take the win and get his arms in the air for the second day running.

“The guys worked hard today when it split to bring Warren back up to the front and also Tobias pulled all day then was in the front split to keep us out of the wind until the climb,” said Degenkolb after the stage.

“At the end we made the best out of the situation with just three of us. I had to improvise after nearly missing a corner. I lost the wheel and had to close the gap but luckily I was strong enough to still sprint.

"Today was a very tough one. I had to work really hard for it. After the acceleration by [Tinkoff-]Saxo Bank, there were only Koen de Kort and Warren Barguil left with me, so it meant a lead out with two guys.

"I saw a gap in front of me. I closed it early. That’s how I won. It’s great to get another victory. It’s nice to win a second time. It gives me a big satisfaction and it’s great to give this victory to the team.

"I think I didn’t change my lane. There was enough space on the right side if he was able to pass me. Nacer complained but I didn’t move from left to right. I was trying to avoid somebody to pass me on the right side. 

"It was a very hot day. From the beginning we understood that Orica wasn’t going to ride behind the breakaway. As it was Tony Martin at the front, we knew he was someone we couldn’t allow to take a big advantage. At one point, Ligthart was left alone at the front.

"We definitely didn’t expect Contador to accelerate like that. It was a smart move from him. I’m not sure how many GC contenders he got rid of but it was painful for all of us.

"I’m very happy to have the green jersey now but I already tried to win the points classification two years ago. Even with winning five stages, I didn’t make it. It’s very difficult for a sprinter to keep the green jersey at the Vuelta, since the scale is the same for all the stages, flat or mountainous. So I won’t make it a goal for the time being.

“The atmosphere is very relaxed now and it’s good not just for mine but also the team’s confidence. I’m looking forward now to helping Warren tomorrow and getting him in the best position for what will be a steep, hard finish. It will be role reversal, me getting bottles and ice for the guys.”

De kort said after the stage: “I had a bit of a funny feeling before the crosswinds that something was going to happen. There was a slight crosswind all day. I wasn’t too far up though but saw John ahead and as soon as I could I rode up to him and held him out of the wind. Tobias was still there too and rode strong to make sure we were out of the wind to the climb.

“Warren missed the split but the other guys worked hard and got him back to the front. Coming into the finish it was Warren, John and I so we had to stay calm with only three of us. Warren put us in position then I waited before going with around 800m to go. I felt really good and looked around at one point and thought I had pulled away but the intention was to help John and it’s great for us to get another stage.”

Barguil added: “It was nice and calm to start with but then when the race split it was a bit unexpected and I didn’t move up in time to make the first split.

“The guys did a great job to bring me back to the front group and I have to thank them for that. At the finish I positioned John and Koen as planned for the sprint and then made sure that I didn’t lose any time.

“The legs are getting better and better. With the hardest stages in the second and third weeks I should be in good shape there.”

Team Giant-Shimano coach, Lionel Marie also gave his input, saying: “The team did another great job today and didn’t panic when it got nervous. When Warren was in the second group the guys worked well together to bring him back to the front.

“Tobias did a strong job riding on the front most of the day then keeping the guys out of the wind until the last hill again.

“The spirit in the team is really good and the young guys are adapting well to the rhythm of a Grand Tour. Tomorrow will be a hard race but Warren is looking good and with good support we will get him into the best position.”