German champ John Degenkolb wins ninth stage in Tour de France
Roubaix — Two years after suffering a career-threatening accident, former Paris-Roubaix champion John Degenkolb claimed his maiden Tour de France win on his favourite terrain when he tamed the cobbles and powered to victory in a final sprint on Sunday’s ninth stage. The German, who won the Queen of the Classics in 2015, was one of three riders to jump away from the main pack 19km from the line and he was the fastest in the final sprint, beating overall race leader Greg van Avermaet of Belgium. Another Belgian, Yves Lampaert, took third place after a 156.5km ride from Arras featuring 21.7km of bone-shaking cobbled sectors, some of which feature on the one-day Paris-Roubaix route. "It is very emotional, I went through such a difficult period so today is pure happiness," said Degenkolb, who suffered several fractures and a finger injury after he and some teammates were hit by a car during a training ride in January 2016. "But my team and my family supported me. In Germany they say thos...
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