John Degenkolb of Germany won the third stage of the Tour of Dubai cycling race on Friday, wresting the overall lead from Britain’s Mark Cavendish in the process.
Degenkolb, who rides for the Giant-Alpecin team, won the race’s longest stage, the 205km from Marine Club to Hatta Dam, in a sprint finish over the final 300m stretch by two seconds from Spanish duo Alejandro Valverde and Juan Jose Lobato.
In the overall standings, he is now two seconds ahead of Cavendish going into Saturday’s final stage, the 128km run between Dubai and Burj Khalifa.
Results from the third stage of the Dubai Tour, a 205km ride from Dubai International Marine Club to Hatta Dam on Friday:
Stage
1. John Degenkolb (GER/Giant-Alpecin) 4hr 50min 40sec, 2. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) at 2sec, 3. Juan Jose Lobato (ESP) s.t., 4. Filippo Pozzato (ITA) s.t., 5. Marco Canola (ITA) s.t.
Overall
1. John Degenkolb (GER/Giant-Alpecin) 12hr 45min 29sec, 2. Mark Cavendish (GBR) at 4sec, 3. Alejandro Valverde (ESP) 6, 4. Juan Jose Lobato (ESP) 8, 5. Alessandro Bazzana (ITA) 11
– Agence France-Presse
