John Degenkolb of Giant-Shimano gave another display of sprinting to win his fourth stage of the Vuelta de Espana (Tour of Spain) cycle race on Wednesday.

The German rider, who had already won three stages, was the fastest rider once again over the finish line, ahead of Michael Matthews (Orica Green Edge) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek).

The sprinter has now won an incredible nine stages in his two appearances in the Vuelta and will be favorite to win the green jersey for the rider with the best points total in the race.

The 191 kilometer stage to La Coruna didn't have any mountains for the riders to climb and as such was never going to alter the leadership board.

However, it offered the perfect terrain for a group of riders to launch an escape with legs fresher after Tuesday's rest day, while the sprinting teams will have been eyeing the chance to let their speed merchants battle it out for the stage win.

The day started with Rigoberto Uran, who struggled with a virus in recent days and Haimar Zubeldia withdrawing from the race, while the rest of the stage went as expected with the day's escape of five riders reeled in with plenty of time for Giant Shimano and Orica Green Edge to organize their sprint trains.

Alberto Contador remains race leader ahead of Alejandro Valverde and Chris Froome and they will renew with battle for the overall title on Thursday's stage, which ends on another hilltop finish. Endite

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