Team HTC-Highroad claimed their third straight stage victory in the 2011 Criterium du Dauphiné earlier today when German sprinter John Degenkolb powered across the finish line first in stage four for his second stage win of the race.

Already victorious on stage two's uphill dash for the line in Lyon on Tuesday, just 48 hours later in Macon, the first-year fastman proved he is equally at home on the flatter sprint finishes.

Combined with time trial specialist and fellow German Tony Martin succeeding in yesterday's individual time trial stage around Grenoble, Degenkolb's latest triumph makes it a dominating three wins in a row in the Criterium du Dauphiné for Team HTC-HighRoad.

"If you get one stage win in a tough race like this, it's pretty good, so taking three in a row is pretty amazing," Danish Team HTC-Highroad sports director Brian Holm commented after congratulating Degenkolb on his win.

"John's confidence was really high after he took that uphill sprint against some real specialists in that kind of finish. So we kept it under control in the last few kilometers, putting a couple of guys on the front, with Jan Ghyselinck and Gatis Smukulis keeping the pace high," Holm continued.

"There are some big name sprinters here and to tell the truth I wasn't too sure if John'd be able to match them on the flat as well as he had on the uphill."

Photo Fotoreporter Sirotti.

"But it seems like we've got a guy who's got a little bit of Erik Zabel in him and a little bit of Mark Cavendish, and he did absolutely fine," Holm concluded.

Team Sky Procycling's Tour de France favorite Bradley Wiggins (Great Britain) maintains the overall Dauphine Libere lead ahead of Cadel Evans (Team BMC Racing) and defending champion Janez Brajkovic of Team RadioShack.