Dubai: Giant-Shimano rider Marcel Kittel claimed the second stage of the Dubai Tour 2014 on Thursday as BMC Racing’s American rider Taylor Phinney maintained the overall leader’s blue jersey.
In a 121km stage that was surprisingly dominated by SkyDive Dubai’s Spanish rider Francisco Mancebo until the final ten kilometres, Kittel came up with a late burst at the line at Palm Jumeirah to win ahead of Cannondale’s Canadian star Peter Sagan and Lampre-Merida’s Roberto Ferrari, Movistar Team’s Juan Jose Lobato, Trek Factory Racing’s Giacomo Nizzolo and stage one winner Phinney. The latter will continue with all four jerseys for another day.
Friday’s third stage — the “Nature Stage” over 162km — is due to be flagged off at 11.30am and will end in Hatta.
“Crossing first is always such a nice feeling, and for me as a sprinter it is always important to be there first. Of course I like to celebrate this as a team win as everyone works for a goal and I am the lucky guy crossing the line first. I am proud of how we work and it’s really nice to see it working out the way we planned,” Kittel told media.
The 25-year-old has had an amazing cycling career so far, starting with 17 stage wins with the Skil-Shimano team in his debut year in 2011. In 2012, the German registered 13 wins and last year peaked with 15, including four stages of the Tour de France.
Britain’s Mark Cavendish, of the Omega Pharma-Quick-Step team, who has been a constant rival to the German, kept pace with the stage winner until the last 1.5km. But Kittel’s pace was too much as Cavendish finished in 30th place for 34th in the general classification after two stages.
Kittel added: “Personally I like Dubai and it is also very important to see how we are testing as a team. It is very satisfying to see things work out for us. It’s much more satisfying beating a sprinter next to me as it makes it more interesting for the spectators. It’s this fighting for the win that gives you a lot of excitement.”
Thursday’s stage began at the World Trade Centre before heading east into the desert. The riders raced along Emirates Road before heading back to the city via Motor City and Hessa Street. After taking in Al Sufouh Road and Jumeirah Beach Residence, they were taken round Emirates Hills before finally going to the Palm, where they finished close to the Atlantis Hotel.
Banco BIC-Carmin rider Diogo Nunes, Mancebo and Vini Fantini-Nippo’s South African rider Willie Smit were the first to break away from the blue jersey pack at the start. After just three kilometres, the leading trio had a one-minute cushion, which gradually increased to three-and-a-half minutes at the 25km point.
By the half-way stage, the chasing peloton had managed to cut the lead to 1min 45sec and, with 28km to go, Nunes had dropped back into the pack, leaving Smit and Mancebo ahead by a minute.
The peloton increased its pace in the final 20km and the gap was reduced to a mere 40 seconds. With 16km to go, Smit clipped a television cameraman, forcing him to lose vital seconds and leaving the SkyDive Dubai rider as the sole leader.
However, the peloton hauled him in inside the final 10km and Kittel claimed the stage win in two hours, 50 minutes and 30 seconds at an average speed of 42.971 kph.
