Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) came from a seemingly impossible position to beat Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) and Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) in the second stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour.
One day after crashing and missing out on the opportunity to get in the mix on the opening stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour, Marcel Kittel showed why he’s the most in-form sprinter of the bunch by taking a splendid win in Big Flag, where the 155km-long stage 2 concluded.
“Our plan was to leave it late today. It was a strange finale and I surfed from wheel to wheel, saving up some energy. I really believed in this victory until the very end and getting it the way I did makes things very nice, just as in Dubai, two weeks ago. On stage 1 I lost the chance to fight for the victory, but also some skin, so today I was keen on making the most out of this opportunity. Thanks to the guys for their help, they did a marvelous job! It feels great to notch a win also here, before my European debut next week, at Paris-Nice”, Marcel Kittel said after his impressive sprint.
Marcel Kittel arrache la victoire à Caleb Ewan dans cette 2e étape du Tour d’Abu Dhabi. #lequipeVELO pic.twitter.com/bu3lkzZaEB
— la chaine L’ÉQUIPE (@lachainelequipe) 24 februarie 2017
Abu Dhabi Tour 2017 – stage 2 results:
| 1 | Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) | 2:28:11 |
| 2 | Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) | ,, |
| 3 | Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) | ,, |
| 4 | Matteo Pelucchi (Bora-hansgrohe) | ,, |
| 5 | Phil Bauhaus (Team Sunweb) | ,, |
| 6 | Elia Viviani (Team Sky) | ,, |
| 7 | Andrea Guardini (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 8 | Eduard Michael Grosu (Nippo – Vini Fantini) | ,, |
| 9 | Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) | ,, |
| 10 | Alexander Porsev (Gazprom – Rusvelo) | ,, |
General classification after stage 2:
| 1 | Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) | 8:05:03 |
| 2 | Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) | +04” |
| 3 | Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) | +08” |
| 4 | Marco Canola (Nippo – Vini Fantini) | ,, |
| 5 | Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) | ,, |
| 6 | Manuele Mori (UAE Team Emirates) | ,, |
| 7 | Niccolo Bonifazio (Bahrain Merida) | +10” |
| 8 | Fabio Calabria (Novo Nordisk) | +11” |
| 9 | Mirco Maestri (Bardiani CSF) | +12” |
| 10 | Kazushige Kuboki (Nippo – Vini Fantini) | ,, |
