RAS AL KHAIMAH // Caught in the chaotic traffic accelerating towards the finish line, Marcel Kittel, and indeed most of his fans, would have been forgiven for thinking his fate was sealed.
With the finish-line less than 500 metres away, defending champion Kittel, winner of Stage 1 of the Dubai Tour on the Palm Jumeirah yesterday, was caught somewhere in the middle of the 120-member peloton, with no opening in sight. But then, he remembered the German equivalent of those oft-repeated words: “It ain’t over until the fat lady sings.”
Within seconds, and out of nowhere, you could see the Blue Jersey of the Quick-Step Floors rider piercing through the crowd on the giant screen, swerving left with his team and then spearing through in the mad-dash to the finish of the 188km Ras Al Khaimah Stage, leaving Dylan Groenewegen (Team Lotto NL-Jumbo) to rue a second runner-up finish in two days.
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Read more
■ Stage 2: Yousif Mirza 'proud' to be part of the pack
■ Stage 1: Kittel praises teammates after win
■ More Kittel: Dubai Tour champion ready to hit the ground running in 2017
■ Dubai Tour 2017: Map and courses for all five stages
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Italian Jakub Mareczko (Wilier Triestina) completed the podium, while Briton’s Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data), who finished third on Stage 1, got crowded out and could finish only seventh.
“It was a moment where you almost start thinking, ‘Oh, now it’s over maybe’,” said Kittel, as he talked about the finish. “That’s the wrong way to think about it.
“One of my former sports directors used to say, ‘It finishes only at the finish line’. It sounds very simple, but it is actually very true because unless you have crossed the finish line, you still have a chance to go for victory.
“I think that mentality kept me in contention for victory today. This was a completely different finish. There were not so many possibilities to stretch out the peloton just before to the finish line.
“It’s nice to win like this, when you are going wheel-to-wheel. in all that chaos, we still managed to come through in the end, when it really mattered. It was still very good.”
With two wins from as many stages, Kittel is now firmly in the seat to retain his overall Dubai Tour crown. He owns both the Blue Jersey (for general individual classification by time) and the Red Jersey (general individual classification by points) and given his form, the German surely fancies his chances of winning all five stages, no?
“I am not the type of guy who will sit here and say such things,” said Kittel, who now boasts seven Dubai Tour stage wins. “As you saw today, things can really change quickly. You can get into situations where you cannot go for victory. So, I think the goal for us now as a team is to keep working on what we are doing and try to take it day by day.”
With 1.5km to go, Groenewegen and his Lotto NL-Jumbo were in the lead and seemed headed for victory with Kittel and Cavendish caught in the chaos, but the Dutchman reckons he timed his sprint wrong.
“I wanted to be first but I have to be content with second as Marcel Kittel was strong at the end today,” he said. “I think it was possible for me to win today, but I launched my sprint a bit too early. Had I accelerated 50 metres later, I could have won.
“I hope we don’t get another second place in the next few days. We will try to win and we will go for it.”
STAGE 2 RESULT: (top five)
1. Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) in 4:25:33
2. Dylan Groenewegen (Team Lotto NL - Jumbo)
3. Jakub Mareczko (Wilier Triestina)
4. John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo)
5. Sasha Modolo (UAE Abu Dhabi)
JERSEYS
Blue Jersey (General individual classification by time): Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors)
Red Jersey (General individual classification by points): Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors)
White Jersey (Best Young Rider born after January 1, 1992): Dylan Groenewegen (Team Lotto NL - Jumbo)
UAE Flag Jersey (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification): Nicola Boem (Bardiani CSF)
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) 8:31:46
2. Dylan Groenewegen (Team Lotto NL - Jumbo) at 0:08”
3. Nicola Boem (Bardiani CSF) at 0:13’’
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