Stage 3 Tour de France 2014 report: Kittel sprints to victory on The Mall
7th July 2014
After
the flag went down just outside Cambridge on Stage 3 of the 2014 Tour
de France, a two-man break was made immediately by Jan Barta of Team
NetApp-Endura and Jean-Marc Bideau of Bretagne-Séché Environnement.
Their lead was out to over 4 minutes at one point.
With 10km left, at the Limehouse Link tunnel, the pair's lead was down to 30 seconds. The sprinters' teams picked up the pace under grey London skies with rain falling, and they caught first Bideau, then Barta with just over 5km to go.
Omega Pharma Quickstep led the charge, then Giant Shimano. There was a crash near Westminster Bridge, but the main sprinters were not affected.
Giant Shimano were still in the lead as the riders hit The Mall. Kittel came to the front fairly early, and blew the others away, winning the stage. Peter Sagan was second and Mark Renshaw third.
Kittel described the stage as 'very hectic', and said that as it was wet, everyone was a bit scared. However, he was pleased with his finish. 'I think it was one of the fastest sprints I ever had.'
Nibali remains in the yellow jersey.
Simon Yates, interviewed by Jill Douglas, looked in good form, and said Stage 3 was much more relaxed than the first two.