Marcel Kittel (Quick Step Floors) edged out Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) to win stage 7 of the Tour de France after another sweltering day in the saddle, which took the riders over 213.5 kilometres from Troyes to Nuits-Saint-Georges.
It was his 12th stage success at the Tour de France, one which saw him equal the record set in 2002 by Erik Zabel, who until today was the most successful German at the Tour de France.
Kittel, already victorious in Liège and Troyes, was delivered into a perfect position by lead-out man Fabio Sabatini and kicked out with 75 metres remaining to capitalise on the excellent work of the his Quick-Step Floors team.
It was a nail-biting finish, one of the closest in Tour de France victory. Boasson Hagen opened the sprint first, but a powerful surge and a late bike-throw secured Kittel’s third victory at this edition, one which got him back into the green jersey.
After the stage, which was decided by a photo-finish, the German was full of praise for his teammates: “First of all, I want to thank the guys, they were fantastic today. Julien spent close to 1000 kilometres in the wind since the start of the race, which is incredible, while the rest of the team protected me throughout the day and made sure I was right up there when it became serious. Having such a team around me makes me very proud.”
Before going to the podium to receive the winner’s trophy, Kittel took a moment to catch his breath and watch the photo-finish, which showed him take the win for only six millimetres: “It was the closest sprint of my career. Reminds me of last year’s stage in Limoges, but not even that one was so tight. I’m not surprised to see Edvald up there, he’s in good shape and very strong, which we could already notice in Troyes. Seeing that only six millimetres made the difference between joy and disappointment today makes me happy and grateful for having the long arms which helped me get that decisive bike-throw.”
The win and green jersey which he reclaimed after three days brought a huge joy to the 29-year-old sprinter, but despite today’s remarkable feats and the 15-point cushion he has over the next rider, Kittel isn’t thinking of winning the classification: “It’s still a long way to Paris. We’re just seven stages into the race, so maybe we can talk more about this on the second rest day. Until then, I’m enjoying every moment and every victory I get at the Tour.”
Should disqualified to give something else a chance