Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) knows that ‘the finish is at the finish line’ and it served him well in the Abu Dhabi Tour, where he again proved to be as nimble as he is powerful and quick to win stage 2.
The 28-year-old was out of position but surfed through the bunch before he rolled Caleb Ewan and Mark Cavendish on the line to claim his fifth victory of the season.
“I can say that I’m very happy that I still believed through to the last moment in my chances. To come from the back today with a headwind maybe gave me an advantage, to sit and surf from wheel to wheel, save some energy and pick-up speed,” Kittel said.
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The German sprinter was almost out of shot as the cameras focused in on petite sprinters Ewan and Cavendish, whose aerodynamic positions are well documented and aid their dexterity in the bunch.
Kittel is a tall and broad-shouldered power sprinter but is proving as apt in messy finales, where he is clearly not wholly reliant on a textbook lead-out to succeed. The nine-time Tour de France stage winner has shown in Abu Dhabi and at the Dubai Tour earlier this month that he can triumph from both.
“When I went into the right corner at 1.3km I was position 25, but I still had my last guys around me so I didn’t want to give up. I tried my best, tried to jump from wheel to wheel from there and I’m happy that I fought back and still believed in victory,” he said.
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