Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) produced a remarkable comeback in the finishing straight of stage 6 of the Tour de France to claim victory in Troyes and confirm himself as the most powerful sprinter in the race. Chris Froome (Sky) finished safely in the main peloton to retain the overall lead.
When Kittel found himself a dozen places from the front with scarcely 250 metres to go, his cause seemed lost, but a prodigious acceleration saw him clock a top speed of 71kph and overhaul his rivals to win emphatically ahead of Arnaud Démare (FDJ) and André Greipel (Lotto Soudal).
Fabio Sabatini hit the front of the peloton with 800 metres to go and put in a lengthy turn on the front, but with Kittel so far back, it initially seemed as though Quick-Step had made a hash of their lead-out.
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Kittel, however, had the nous to attach himself to the rear wheel of the green jersey Démare as the sprint took shape, and then the raw power to outstrip the competition on the Boulevard du 1er R.A.M.
"The last kilometre was a little bit freestyle but I had a good wheel, first from Arnaud Démare, and then I had to go at 250 to the front," Kittel said. "It went perfect. I could start from a great position, a little behind, to see where my rivals were going. I feel good at the moment."
In keeping with the tenor of this Tour to date, the run-in to Troyes was a rather disorganised, with no one team quite strong enough to take command of the situation as Saeco or Highroad might have done in generations past. Instead, there was a cornucopia of trains vying for supremacy, with FDJ, Cofidis and Katusha-Alpecin all prominent.
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