Dubai: Etixx-Quick Step cyclist Marcel Kittel has predicted “at least some fireworks” as the 2016 Tour de France reaches the business end of the campaign.
German rider Kittel, whose Tour de France debut in 2012 lasted less than five stages due to a viral stomach infection, burst on to the scene when he won four stages of the 2013 Tour, stealing Mark Cavendish’s crown as the sprint king of the peloton.
Prior to that, the big German had won stages in the Vuelta, and his stage wins in the 2014 and 2016 Giro d’Italia put Kittel up among an elite group of riders with wins in all three Grand Tours.
This year’s Tour de France began on a good note as the 28-year-old German went back to winning ways while taking the fourth stage – his first stage win since 2014 – in Limoges. Kittel, who won the first stage and wore the yellow jersey in both 2013 and 2014, sprinted ahead of Frenchman Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) for the win.
The giant German – who switched from Giant-Alpecin to lead Etixx Quick Step this season – was unlucky on Stage 14 last week as Dimension Data’s Cavendish sprinted to the finish line at Villars-les-Dombes to win his fourth stage on the Tour. Kittel went on to finish fifth place after pulling up sharply and conceding positions to Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), Sagan and John Degenkolb (Giant-Alpecin).
In this Tour, and with the finish at Champs-Elysees next Sunday, very little has changed in the top-10 overall classification as Team Sky’s Chris Froome leads Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange).
Kittel has been among the standout performers in the three editions of the Dubai Tour. He started the inaugural year with three consecutive stage wins and followed it up earlier this year with another two stage wins to end at the top of the overall classification as well as the points classification.
Invigorated by Tuesday’s rest day, Kittel expects teams to return strongly and make their moves for the top. “No one can take the Tour for granted. There are stages still remaining and no one, not even Chris [Froome] can expect anything easy and smooth from now on. Past experiences tell us, so we can expect some sort of movement in the placings in the next few days heading to the Champs-Elysees,” Kittel cautioned.
“For the moment, Chris looks very strong in front. He is in the best position at the moment, but he will not be underestimating anyone, not at this stage of the race. He has a fantastic team backing him all the way, but he will definitely know that the final week is the toughest. One wrong move and everything can be over,” he added.
Kittel, who is considered one of the brightest modern-day sprinters, can at least end second best in the fight for the Green jersey after Great Britain’s Cavendish pulled out of the Tour late on Tuesday to concentrate on his preparations for the Rio Games beginning on August 5. The 31-year-old Cavendish won four stages at this year’s Tour to increase his tally to 30 overall – second on the all-time list behind Belgian great Eddy Merckx – who was in second with 291 points behind leader Sagan at the top with 405 points.
On Wednesday, the route headed south from Bern over the Niedersimmental mountain range descending into Chateau-d’Oex and finally to Martigny and a finish in Finhaut-Emosson. “I can be proud of what I and my team have achieved so far in the Tour,” Kittel recounted.
“I can be satisfied that in a race like the Tour de France I have won a stage and always managed to stay right there in front. This has been a good result for our team and so far even though we are going good, we can hope for a strong finish as it is the Champs-Elysees that is on everyone’s mind at the moment,” he added.
