photo credits @ QuickStep
The cancellation of yesterday’s stage 4 due to dangerously high winds didn’t hamper Marcel Kittel’s ambitions, as the QuickStep rider went on to win the final stage today and solidify the overall title in the Dubai Tour for the second year in-a-row.
The German powerhouse succeeded in edging out Elia Viviani (Team Sky) and Riccardo Minali (Astana Pro Team) during sprint finale to seize the stage honors.
Unfortunately, race hopeful Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) suffered a mechanical problem during the final dash for the line which relegated the British rider to only a fourth place finish.
Meanwhile, solid performances from Dylan Groenewegen (Team LottoNl-Jumbo) and John Degenkolb (Trek-Segafredo) during this year’s Dubai Tour earned both riders spots on the final podium.
“I’m extremely proud of what I achieved today: my second Dubai Tour overall in a row, my 75th career victory,” Kittel said at the finish.
“When I came back to Dubai, I thought this is a nice race, it’s a goal for me, but I didn’t think it would go so well. The team did a really god job. It’s a very nice way to start the season. It was a short stage after the cancellation of stage 4 and we tried to control the race from the very beginning. The breakaway wasn’t too big so it went very well for us. At the end, it didn’t go exactly according to the plan because Fabio Sabatini’s chain fell off. He was supposed to be my last lead out man, so I had to go by myself but at the end I was well positioned, so I could do my sprint as I wanted to.”
Race Highlights
A small batch of riders containing Floris Gerts (BMC), Ivan Garcia Cortina (Bahrain-Merida), Dimitry Gruzdev (Astana), and Matteo Bono (UAE -Abu Dhabi), marked the day’s early breakaway group.
From there, the quartet went on to establish a sizable advantage over the peloton along today’s flat course.
However, heading into the final 20 kilometers, the escapees’ advantage had been reduced to just over a minute with Dimension Data, Trek Segafredo and QuickStep Floors hard at work controlling in the pace of the peloton from behind.
The breakaway group was finally reined in with less than 10 kilometers to go, as Dimension Data took control of the peloton in hopes of setting up Cavendish for the sprint.
In the meantime, QuickStep posted two riders at the front of the peloton to later usher Kittel into position during the last 5 kilometers.
Heading into the final straight, Kittel lost his leadout man Fabio Sabatini to a mechanical problem, leaving the German rider without support during the closing 500 meters.
At that point, Cavendish appeared poised for victory, but the Dimension Data train seemed to have lost its impetus during the waning moments – forcing the Manx Missile to fall in behind Kittel.
Despite losing speed, it looked like Cavendish might come around Kittel just before the finish, but a last second problem with gearing brought the curtains down on his chances for victory.
Top 10 Finishers
1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 2 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky 3 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 4 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data 5 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek Segafredo 6 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 7 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team 8 Paolo Simion (Ita) Bardiani CSF 9 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 10 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo
General Classification after stage 5
1 Marcel Kittel (Ger) Quick-Step Floors 2 Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo 0:00:18 3 John Degenkolb (Ger) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:20 4 Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team 0:00:24 5 Elia Viviani (Ita) Team Sky 0:00:24 6 Thomas Stewart (GBr) ONE Pro Cycling 0:00:24 7 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:27 8 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data 0:00:26 9 Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg (RSA) Dimension Data 0:00:27 10 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team 0:00:27
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