A superb lead-out by Team Katusha looked to have set Alexander Kristoff up for victory, only for Marcel Kittel to dig deep into his reserves to deliver yet another emphatic sprint victory.
His fifth Grand Tour stage win of the season – having raced just five sprint stages – the victory had echoes of his Giro d’Italia success in Dublin when he launched a long one and just outdid Ben Swift (Team Sky) at the denouement.
This time out, it was Kristoff and Arnaud Demare (FDJ.fr) left to rue what might have been, though the German was moved to admit it proved he is not unstoppable.
Giant-Shimano’s well-oiled sprint train has clicked into gear perfectly for Kittel so far, and with Mark Cavendish out and Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) struggling it appears Kittel could well leave the Tour with a host of stage wins to his name.
And despite his assertions of not being unbeatable, every sprint still appears to be theirs to lose. The big problem now is, after being given a fright in Lille, he is likely to come back twice as strong.
Kristoff, Demare, Greipel and Peter Sagan all may challenge him, and at least we know each sprint is not going to be as much a formality as it was on The Mall.
But it will take something very special to out-do Kittel and Giant-Shimano in their current imperious form.
