John Degenkolb won five stages of the Vuelta a Espana in 2014 and yet finished well off the reckoning in the hunt for the green jersey.
His hopes of retaining it this time out were made obvious, however, when he snatched an intermediate sprint point on stage eight.
The double stage winner, who has been in resurgent sprinting form so far at the Vuelta, boasts a 13-point lead over Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ.fr) in the points classification.
His nearest non-sprinting rival, meanwhile, is Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) who is 45 points back on 42.
Two-time defending champion Alejandro Valverde, meanwhile, has 32 points as the sprinters look to win the jersey for the first time since Mark Cavendish’s 2010 win.
Given the number of climbers in contention on the mountain stages to come, we have already speculated about the possibility of a sprinter taking the jersey instead.
Degenkolb leads the way, and proved with his stage four win in Cordoba he can handle the undulating terrain as well as the flat stages.
With plenty of big climbs to come, however, it is Martin who looks his biggest threat – the Garmin-Sharp man having already finished in the top ten on three stages.
His late attack on stage seven showed his ambition to close down the leaders overall and also to pick up such points.
With his undoubted climbing ability, and given he is trailing overall, he may well turn his attention to accruing points.
Until then, however, Degenkolb can enjoy his stint in the jersey as a fine year for the German continues.
Vuelta a Espana 2014: points classification after stage nine
1) John Degenkolb (GER) – Giant-Shimano – 87pts
2) Nacer Bouhanni (FRA) – FDJ.fr – 74pts
3) Michael Matthews (AUS) – Orica-GreenEDGE – 71pts
4) Daniel Martin (IRL) – Garmin-Sharp – 42pts
5) Chris Froome (GBR) – Team Sky – 38pts
6) Joaquim Rodriguez (ESP) – Katusha – 35pts
7) Jasper Stuyven (BEL) – Trek Factory Racing – 34pts
8) Alejandro Valverde (ESP) – Movistar – 32pts
9) Lloyd Mondory (FRA) – Ag2r-La Moniale – 31pts
10) Roberto Ferrari (ITA) – Lampre-Merida – 30pts
