First blood for Kittel as Cavendish fades in Dubai

German has the upper hand between the sprint kings after Stage 2, writes Paul Radley.

Marcel Kittel. Angelo Carconi / EPA

DUBAI // The first of what could be a series of sprint battles between Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish ended in a no-contest result on Thursday as the German easily trumped his rival on Stage 2 of the Dubai Tour.

The opening salvo of a richly anticipated confrontation concluded with the Giant-Shimano rider crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 50 minutes, 30 seconds.

Cavendish, by contrast, was left well back in the peloton in 30th. Even Kittel acknowledged the finish was an anticlimax.

“Personally, for me it is much more satisfying if you can beat a sprinter when you are next to each other,” Kittel said.

“It makes it more interesting for the spectator, of course, and fighting for the win gives you a lot of excitement.”

As if the four stage wins at last year’s Tour de France were not enough, this was further evidence that Cavendish has a genuine rival to his status as the fastest man on two wheels.

Ahead of the tour, the British rider responded frostily when quizzed about the growing eminence of the 25 year old from Arnstadt, yet he took defeat here magnanimously.

“Congratulations to Marcel Kittel yet again – another win for that dude,” Cavendish wrote on his Twitter account.

He said the stage “didn’t go as planned” and reasoned that he “didn’t contest the sprint after finding myself a long way back with 500 metres to go”.

Kittel, too, suggested their rivalry was no more hostile than should be expected.

“I’m not going out for dinner with Mark, but I think we have a normal relationship,” he said.

“Of course in the sprints we are competitors, but off the bike it is not a problem, we can chat to each other.

“First of all, I am trying to go my own way, together with the team, but then we have to see who we have to beat to achieve those goals.

“On the Dubai Tour it is Mark Cavendish. In the next race it could be someone else.”

Taylor Phinney, the winner of Wednesday’s time trial, retained the leader’s blue jersey ahead of Friday’s Dubai to Hatta leg after finishing third in Stage 2.

The American was glad the riders managed to avoid the anticipated “carnage” they feared might be caused by strong crosswinds at the end of the tunnel on the Palm.

“I’m happy I was able to keep the jersey,” Phinney said.

“The boys on my team basically controlled the race all the way through, so I wanted to pay them back with a good finish.

“I’m quite happy with third, although you always want to win a stage.”