 Other notable riders to take part in the race included several sprinters . One of these was Peter Sagan ( Tinkoff – Saxo ) , four times the winner of the points classification in the Tour de France and winner of three stages in the 2011 Vuelta , who was preparing for the World Championships road race the following month . Sagan was considered particularly strong on the easier uphill finishes in the first week . John Degenkolb ( Giant – Alpecin ) had won four stages and the points classification in 2014 as well as five stages in 2012 . Nacer Bouhanni ( Cofidis ) , who had crashed out of the Tour , was expected to compete with Degenkolb in the flat sprints . 
