Marcel Kittel sprinted to victory on the final stage of the Dubai Tour, outpacing Elia Viviani and Mark Cavendish to seal his second stage win of the four-day race. Giacomo Nizzolo, the race leader on the day, lost ground in the run-up to the sprint and found himself well back, leaving the door open for Kittel to cap his first race in Etixx-QuickStep colours with the general classification victory.
The German's teammates hit the front going into the final kilometre of the stage, which finished in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa skyscraper, and he showed himself to be the strongest in the sprint. Viviani fought hard on Kittel's wheel but was unable to come past, while Cavendish faded to finish a couple of bike lengths back in third.
Kittel wins the overall title by four seconds from Nizzolo, having started the day six seconds back before sweeping up the 10 bonus seconds on the finish line. Juan José Lobato, who won stage 3 to the Hatta Dam, finished third overall at six seconds.
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"I am really really happy - I was already dreaming about this moment yesterday, and I really wanted it," said a jubilant Kittel.
"The team was fantastic in the final - we did an incredible job. When you look at the other teams they all came way too early, but we stayed calm and came in the right moment. It's great to finish the Dubai Tour, my first race with Etixx, like this.
"My confidence is now probably 1000 times higher than a year ago. I am incredibly proud to start like this. I felt super when I came to Dubai and I think that's the perfect base to start the new season."
Results - top 10
Final General Classification
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