After a year in which he all too often found himself in Marcel Kittel’s shadow, John Degenkolb has been in resurgent form in 2014.

Returning to the race in which he announced himself two years ago, having picked up five stage wins in 2012, the Giant-Shimano man gave a stunning reminder of his sprinting talent on stage four.

Uncompromising it may be, but Degenkolb’s burst from behind Vincente Reynes (IAM Cycling) was simply unmatchable.

As soon as he kicked for the line, there was only ever going to be one winner with none of the remaining sprinters able to match his pace.

That it came after two tricky climbs, on which the pace was very high, further reiterated Degenkolb’s skills on the lumpier terrain too.

His Gent-Wevelgem victory and second place at Paris-Roubaix have marked him out as a genuine contender in the Classics.

And his ability to rack up the stage wins has clearly not been diminished either, despite of season of near-misses which includes two second-place finishes at the Tour.

Once again the 25-year-old German has proved there is far more to the Giant-Shimano sprinting armoury than just Marcel Kittel.