MADRID, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Alberto Contador remains as the leader of the Vuelta de Espana (Tour of Spain) cycle race with John Degenkolb winning the 12th stage on Thursday.
The Spaniard and his fellow contenders stayed out of trouble in the finishing kilometers as Degenkolb (Giant Shimano) won a sprint finish in a stage that was only going to affect the race favorites in the event of a fall.
There was a fall on the final corner which ruined the chances of the FDJ team, who swept several other riders to the floor, but by then Degenkolb was clear and the German was once again able to show he is the fastest sprinter in the race, coming over the line ahead of the veteran Tom Boonen. It was the German's third win in this race and his eighth triumph in Spain in his last two appearances.
The 12th stage saw the riders make eight 20 kilometer circuits of a virtually flat route starting and finishing in the city of Logrono and coming after Wednesday's tough mountain stage and the even tougher stages over the coming days it provided a chance for the candidates for the overall title and their teams to relax slightly, while giving one of the last chances for the specialist sprinters to make their mark.
The day was always going to produce a lone breakaway and on this occasion it was the Cannondale rider, Mattias Krizek, who opened a lead of six minutes, before the Giant Shimano and FDJ teams began to tow the main peloton to close the gap.
Krizek's brave escape was ended with 12 kilometers remaining to set up the sprint on the wide finishing straight, although the fall meant only a reduced number of riders were able to compete and nobody looked like stopping Degenkolb powering his way over the line.
Friday sees a 182 kilometer stage between Belorado and Obregon in another day that should not affect the overall leaderboard ahead of the key mountain stages on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.