Marcel Kittel cut a relaxed figure ahead of the first stage of the Tour de Pologne on Sunday, but only after he had crossed the finish line in first place did it become apparent just how much pressure had built up over the course of this torrid season.
The German struggled with illness in the early months and such was his lack of form, he was left out of Giant-Alpecin’s squad for the Tour de France, where he had won eight stages in the previous two editions. He had notched up a total of just 22 race days, which yielded a win at the People's Choice Down Under Classic in January and a sixth-place finish at the Rund um Köln - hardly what was expected from the man that had supposedly emerged as an indomitable force in sprinting.
Yet on the streets of Warsaw, nearly seven months on from the last time he tasted victory, Kittel was once again able to raise his arms aloft.
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“I’m very relieved, really. This morning I woke up and I thought I could cut the pressure that was in myself with a knife, because it was so tense,” he told reporters after pulling on the race leader’s yellow jersey.
“I was super relieved to win, because it’s a long time since I last won – it has proved to myself that I can come through difficult situations.”
If Kittel had been in need of jump leads to get himself going again, it was perhaps appropriate that he found them in the place where his career had first sparked into life. The 2011 Tour de Pologne was where, in his first season with Giant-Alpecin (then Skil-Shimano), he secured his first victory at WorldTour level. Not just one victory, but four. It was a first resounding statement of intent on his rise to prominence.
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