Tour of Dubai: Win number 2 for Kittel

Marcel Kittel put in an outstanding sprint to take stage 2 of Dubai Tour and lead on GC, Tom Stewart leading Brit on GC

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Tour of Dubai: Win number 2 for Kittel

Team Press Release

Marcel Kittel was again unbeatable at the Dubai Tour, where he took his second victory, a thrilling one, thus extending his overall lead with three stages to go, two of which are also very likely to end in a bunch sprint. It was the German’s seventh career win at the Middle East race, and Quick-Step Floors’ – by far the team of the early season – eighth victory of the year.

© Quick-Step Floors Cycling Team/ Tim De Waele

Starting the day in the blue jersey of the overall leader, Marcel Kittel stayed safely in the peloton on the road to Ras al Khaimah, a new finish in the Dubai Tour, with the break of five not being a threat for the stage win, as Bob Jungels, Davide Martinelli and Julien Vermote always kept it under control, before eventually making the catch inside the last 11 kilometers.

The final part of the stage 2 was scrappy, with the sprinters’ teams struggling to find room and a good position at the front. Marcel Kittel was well-positioned by his teammates in the upper part of the bunch, but due to the chaotic nature of the finale, he was closed at one point and had to come from far back with just 500 meters to go.

Despite that and the fact he was forced to start his sprint later than his opponents, the German’s acceleration was impossible to beat by the others and he went on to score his second successive stage win at the Dubai Tour, ahead of Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Jakub Mareczko (Wilier-Selle Italia). It was Quick-Step Floors’ fourth success in a row, after the one of yesterday and the two of Maximiliano Richeze in the Vuelta a San Juan, last week.

© Quick-Step Floors Cycling Team/ Tim De Waele

“Today was a difficult one. The final was different and tricky, and as a result there wasn’t an opportunity to stretch out the peloton, but adapting to different race situations shows the strength of the team. The guys did once again an incredible job, Fabio brought me to the front when it mattered, Matteo kept the speed high, and I jumped from wheel to wheel and managed to take the victory. It’s nice to win also like this”, said Marcel, who leads not only the overall, but also the points classification.

Following his perfectly-timed sprint, which brought also important bonus seconds, the 28-year-old rider of Quick-Step Floors Cycling Team will start stage 3 (Dubai – Al Aqah, 200 kilometers) with an 8-second advantage over his closest rival in the GC, a buffer which could provide important at the end of the race: “To have seven stage victories here is nice. As I said at the beginning of the week, Dubai has always been good to me. The race is not over, and our goal is to keep on working and take it day by day as good as possible. We’ll see how things pan out.”
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Stage 2
1 Marcel Kittel, Quick-Step Floors20304:25:33
2 Dylan Groenewegen, Team LottoNL-Jumbo1018
3 Jakub Mareczko, Wilier Triestina512
4 John Degenkolb,Trek – Segafredo 7
5 Sacha Modolo, UAE Abu Dhabi 4
6 Juan José Lobato, Team LottoNL-Jumbo 3
7 Mark Cavendish, Dimension Data 2
8 Riccardo Minali, Astana Pro Team 1
9 Marco Maronese, Bardiani – CSF
10 Adam Blythe, Aqua Blue Sport

14. Steele Von Hoff, One Pro Cycling
16. Andy Fenn, Aqua Blue Sport
20. Elia Viviani, Team Sky
27. Alex Dowsett, Movistar Team
39. Tom Stewart, One Pro Cycling
57. Karol Domagalski, One Pro Cycling
59. Jonathan Dibben, Team Sky
60. Joshua Hunt, One Pro Cycling
69. Pete Williams, One Pro Cycling
75. Dan Pearson, Aqua Blue Sport
85. Tao Geoghegan Hart, Team Sky
99. Mark Christian, Aqua Blue Sport
106. Scott Thwaites, Dimension Data 0:36
109. Matt Brammeier, Aqua Blue Sport
117. Sam Williams, One Pro Cycling 1:06
119. Kristian House, One Pro Cycling 1:47

GC
1. Marcel Kittel, Quick-Step Floors58:31:46
2. Dylan Groenewegen, Team LottoNL-Jumbo 0:08
3. Nicola Boem, Bardiani – CSF 0:13
4. Jean-Pierre Drucker, BMC Racing Team 0:14
5. Tom Stewart One Pro Cycling
6. Mark Cavendish, Dimension Data 0:16

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