Marcel Kittel has sprinted to a superb opening stage victory at Le Tour de France and in doing so took the yellow jersey for the second year in a row.
Marcel capped off a great finish from Team Giant-Shimano where they bided their time and came through just when needed after sticking together and racing as a team, then finishing the job off in style.
It marks Marcel’s fifth Tour de France stage victory of his career and gets the Tour off to the best possible start the team could have wished for.
The race got underway in Leeds mid-morning in front of huge crowds and under a beaming sum – it promised to be a good day from the off. Rolling out at the start you could immediately see how huge the Tour is to the people in Yorkshire and with fans lining the whole of the 190.5km route it was a special atmosphere.
An early breakaway pulled clear containing just three riders which left the team in a comfortable position behind for the chase. Cheng Ji joined the chase at the head of the peloton and helped control the break’s advantage before the escapees split up leaving one rider alone out front.
Despite a succession of tough climbs through the Yorkshire Dales the race stayed together and with 40km to go the final escapee was brought back into the fold. From here onwards the race stayed together and in the closing kilometres the lead-outs came to the fore.
The team came together in the Pure Sprint Formation with Marcel feeling good and, despite a reshuffle in order, came through just when needed to put Marcel in a perfect position.
A late solo attack raised the tension in the lead-out but the team stayed calm and gradually brought him back in the final few hundred metres before Marcel launched his sprint. He had time to throw his hands in the air as he crossed the line, confirming his fifth Tour stage win, and another yellow jersey with it.
Reaction
After the stage, Marcel said: “It was a really special day today – the supporters lining the roads were incredible. I am so proud and this means so much to me that we made it happen.
“The jersey is for the team after the job they did today and all the fans out there supporting us also deserve a slice.
“We worked so hard for it – everyone pulled just as they should and even with a slight reshuffle in the sprint formation at the end we got it perfect.
“John [Degenkolb] and Koen [De Kort] pulled through the last few hundred metres of the lead-out and then I had to go for it as Sagan launched.
“We got it right again today and it was a real team effort. It’s a special day.”
Team Giant-Shimano coach Marc Reef added: “That was unbelievable. To win the yellow jersey on the opening stage of the Tour for the second year in a row is something special.
“The situation was good for us today – three riders ahead and a steady chase behind. We put Cheng [Ji] up in front from the start to control and he did a good job.
“Throughout the day we were never in trouble – Tom Veelers was open and said he wasn’t feeling great so we changed the formation out on the road and with 25km to go were on track for the plan to sprint with Marcel.
“Everyone was really strong, communicated well and stuck to the plan. And then at the end Marcel was super strong and finished it off.”
“Today was really special – from the start the race was amazing with fans two, three, four deep lining the whole route,” confirmed John after the stage.
“We did a great job today and waited until the right time. When Cancellara attacked near the finish at first it was tense but we stayed calm as there was still a long way to go.
“It feels amazing to win again as a team like this and what a way to start the Tour.”
