Marcel Kittel’s sprint victory on The Mall means his Giant-Shimano team will depart England in bullish mood after a stunning start to their Tour de France.
The team could not have scripted their stay in Yorkshire any better with victory on stage one in Harrogate, a day riding for the yellow jersey on stage two and then victory on The Mall.
A well-oiled sprint train and the fastest sprinter in the peloton have gifted Giant-Shimano a near-perfect start to the Tour to take their season’s tally to 28 wins.
And directeur sportif Christian Guiberteau admits the team are thriving under the pressure their success has created.
“It’s amazing again,” he told RCUK after witnessing Kittel storm to a comprehensive victory on The Mall.
“To already have two victories is fantastic. Our goal was one victory for a member of the team, and already we have double.
Last year it was a surprise – ‘oh wow, Marcel Kittel, who is he?’ – now we have more pressure
“Last year it was a surprise – ‘oh wow, Marcel Kittel, who is he?’ – and we got four victories. Now, in the Tour de France, we have more pressure. But it is good to have already got confidence from winning, and now we can have the positive pressure which that brings.”
Starting the Tour with two dedicated sprinters – Kittel and his equally in-form team-mate John Degenkolb – the team have made great play of their well-oiled sprint trains.
With Roy Curvers captaining the team on the road, Dries Devenyns and the ‘breakaway killer’ Cheng Ji are the two men assigned to control proceedings during the stage.
It is the sprint formation built around Kittel which has been deployed to great effect so far at the Tour – John Degenkolb, Koen de Kort and Tom Veelers peeling off in that order to leave Kittel in prime position on the front.
And Guiberteau believes the victory on The Mall, in particular, is reflective of how the team’s growing experience in the sprint is reaping its rewards.
“For sure, Marcel is in good shape, and so are the team behind him along with the sprint train. It is a team which is now a little bit more mature, it has more experience and it is nice to see that.
“We have put a lot of work in to the sprints, and the confidence between each of the riders means we have the experience to keep hold of our positions, or to make the changes needed on the road, or wait until a better opportunity.
“For example, today, it was safe to take the lead-out for Kittel as we were on the front for the final corner.
We have put a lot of work in to the sprints and the confidence between each of the riders means we have the experience to keep hold of our positions, or to make the changes needed on the road, or wait until a better opportunity
“All of this comes from the experience of dealing with such technical aspects, and now we can use the race to put these plans into practice.”
His two sprint victories means Kittel is up to second in the race for the green jersey, trailing Peter Sagan by 27 points.
However, while Sagan has racked up points at the intermediate sprints, the German has played no part in proceedings mid-way through the race and Guiberteau admits the team is refusing to look to the points classification as a target.
Instead, the team remain focussed on racking up the stage wins – and with the in-form Kittel at the fore it is difficult not to see them adding a third victory on stage four in Lille.
With two equally capable sprint trains, however, Guiberteau insists the team will continue to assess each day as it comes.
“For the green jersey, Sagan is looking really strong because he can climb,” he admitted. “We do not look at it, but will take it stage-by-stage and look for opportunities.
“Tomorrow is one, but the stages are all very different. It could change with the weather, the conditions, so we will see each day before making our decisions on how to approach them.”
