John Degenkolb has said that his Giant Shimano team had to work for his fourth win in this year's Vuelta a España.
Speaking to the Giant Shimano Press Office, Degenkolb said: "It looked easy but it really wasn't today. We had to work really hard for it, harder than the other days. We did everything for a sprint today and it turned out to be the right decision.
"It's the fourth victory from strong teamwork, and everybody can see that the spirit is very good in our team.
"It was a hard final, but we looked at the last 10km yesterday and today everything worked out as we had planned it on the rest day. There are not so many opportunities anymore for sprints but for sure I will help to defend the top ten place of Warren. Friday may be an opportunity for me if I can survive the climbs and I will do my best to defend the green jersey."
"It was great today, the whole team rode and made it happen for John, it was magnificent. It's great that we can still fight for the stage wins here like this after such a long and hard race," Warren Barguil, Degenkolb's team mate added.
"For the days to come I'll continue to give it everything and to keep fighting for my placing on GC."