John Degenkolb went into today's final time trial of the Vuelta a Espana hoping that the GC riders would not take the green jersey off his shoulders. As rain took them out of contention for the stage win, the German could celebrate his first ever points jersey in a grand tour.

John Degenkolb could finally sit back in the knowledge that the green jersey was his to keep after the final stage time trial at La Vuelta, and at the same time Warren Barguil confirmed his eighth place overall in the race in the rain affected final race against the clock.

Nikias Arndt was the highest placed finisher on the stage in 14th, 24 second down on the stage winner Adriano Malori (Movistar), while Degenkolb was next fastest in 20th.

The time trial was heavily affected by the weather conditions with the early starters being able to race in the dry before the skies turned and the rain started to fall. This meant that the GC battle was dampened at the tail end with riders more concentrated on making it home safely rather than pushing their limits.

Barguil had a safe yet strong ride to secure his eighth place overall, finishing the stage in 70th at 1’17″ down on the stage winner. The rest of the GC favourites finished either around him or below him confirming his strong finish to the race.

With Degenkolb’s nearest rival in the green jersey competition, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) finishing out of the points Degenkolb could finally confirm the win in the classification.

Team Giant-Shimano coach Lionel Marie gave his thoughts on both the stage and the race as a whole, saying: “Today Nikias, Tobias and Chad were really focused on having a good ride today, but when Tobias and Chad started the rain was coming down hard so that ended their chances.

“For Warren it was a bit stressful in the wet but he did a good ride out there. Then there was the points classification which was out of our hands today.

“Usually teams come to a Grand Tour with a goal for stages or a GC position, but we came here with both and this meant that we had to work hard every day. The guys were every day either pulling on the front for a sprint of riding to support Warren, and they did a great job, the whole team.

“The green jersey isn’t won here very often by the sprinters with all of the mountains, so that adds to the satisfaction in winning the classification. Four stage wins, eighth overall and the green jersey – that’s a pretty successful race to me.”

Arndt added: “I was lucky to race in the dry today and there was clearly a benefit with this but I am very happy with 14th regardless. But the most important thing about today is that we won the green jersey and Warren secured his place on GC – this is what we have been working so hard for over the last three weeks. I am looking froward to relaxing tonight with the team and celebrating our success.”

“I’m really happy,” said Degenkolb. “It’s hard to find the right words. Today, when Alberto crossed the line or when I saw that it was still wet for him and I realized it was going to be hard for him to beat Malori’s time, I was a little bit more relaxed. I went full gas today to maybe also get some points but in the end, everything is fine. The green jersey is a great reward for the whole team. I’m really happy to win my first green jersey in a Grand Tour.

“It’s very unique for me. It’s been another very beautiful Vuelta. I like Spain, because of the variations of landscapes and weather conditions. I like the Vuelta. It’s unbelievable, it’s great to be here in Santiago for the celebrations, I really enjoyed the three weeks of racing. It gave me a lot of motivation and a lot of energy for the coming weeks.”