Ster ZLM Toer: Marcel Kittel leaves the world’s best in his wake in stage one sprint

by Ben Atkins at 7:22 PM EST

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Categories: Pro Cycling, Race Reports and Results, Ster Elektrotoer

German wunderkind beats Renshaw and Cavendish in Dutch stage race opener

Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) left the World’s best sprinters in his wake as he took the opening stage of the Ster ZLM Toer, between Eindhoven and Sittard/Geleen. The 24-year-old German managed to take the scalps of both Rabobank’s Mark Renshaw, and Team Sky’s World champion Mark Cavendish in the dash for the line, and took the first yellow jersey of the Dutch stage race.

“Team Sky took the lead very early,” explained Kittel’s Argos-Shimano teammate Koen de Kort. “But the pace was not full on and so we had to start early with our team’s sprint train, and I rode for so long on the front.

“It’s nice that we got the victory, because this was a good test for us in preparation for the Tour de France,” he added.

The 151km stage saw a four-man break get clear after just 15km. Sven Vandousselaere (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator), Jesper Schipper (Cyclingteam De Rijke), Rens te Stroet (Cyclingteam Jo Piels) and Jeffrey Wiersma (Metec Continental) were able to stretch out a lead of seven minutes by the middle of the stage, but were steadily closed down by the peloton and caught with 15km to go.

Argos-Shimano, Rabobank, and Team Sky all contributed to the chase, but it was Cavendish’s black, white and blue team that led into the final kilometres. Argos-Shimano managed to take over into the finishing straight, however, launching Kittel towards his sixth victory of the season so far.

The German was a convincing victor, taking what will be a morale-boosting win ahead of what will likely be his debut Tour de France in just over two weeks’ time.

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Ster ZLM Toer Stage 1 Result: Eindhoven to Geleen, 151 km:

Click on the arrowsat the top of the column to sort the race results.

Country	Result	Name	Team	Time
GER	1	Marcel Kittel	(Argos-Shimano)	03:30:05
AUS	2	Mark Renshaw	(Rabobank Cycling Team)	s.t.
GBR	3	Mark Cavendish	(Sky Procycling)	s.t.
NED	4	Kenny Van Hummel	(Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team)	s.t.
ITA	5	Giacomo Nizzolo	(RadioShack - Nissan)	s.t.
GER	6	Andre Greipel	(Lotto - Belisol Team)	s.t.
BEL	7	Kevin Peeters	(Landbouwkrediet - Euphony)	s.t.
JPN	8	Takashi Miyazawa	(Team Saxo Bank)	s.t.
LUX	9	Jean-pierre Drucker	(Accent.jobs – Willems Veranda’s)	s.t.
NED	10	Stefan Van Dijk	(Accent.jobs – Willems Veranda’s)	s.t.
NZL	11	Gregory Henderson	(Lotto - Belisol Team)	s.t.
NED	12	Raymond Kreder	(Garmin - Barracuda)	s.t.
NED	13	Dylan Groenewegen	(Cycling Team De Rijke - Shanks)	s.t.
BEL	14	Michael Van Staeyen	(Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator)	s.t.
AUS	15	Graeme Brown	(Rabobank Cycling Team)	s.t.
BEL	16	Sven Vanthourenhout	(Landbouwkrediet - Euphony)	s.t.
BEL	17	Tom Van Asbroeck	(Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator)	s.t.
BEL	18	Tim Merlier	(Sunweb - Revor)	s.t.
IRL	19	Matthew Brammeier	(Omega Pharma - Quickstep)	s.t.
BEL	20	Iljo Keisse	(Omega Pharma - Quickstep)	s.t.
NED	21	Sven Van Luijk	(Cyclingteam Jo Piels)	s.t.
RUS	22	Nikolay Trusov	(Team Rusvelo)	s.t.
BEL	23	Kurt Hovelijnck	(Landbouwkrediet - Euphony)	s.t.
AUT	24	Marco Haller	(Katusha Team)	s.t.
NED	25	Barry Markus	(Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team)	s.t.
BEL	26	Jan Bakelants	(RadioShack - Nissan)	s.t.
FRA	27	Romain Feillu	(Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team)	s.t.
AUS	28	Jonathan Cantwell	(Team Saxo Bank)	s.t.
POR	29	Tiago Machado	(RadioShack - Nissan)	s.t.
RSA	30	Robert Hunter	(Garmin - Barracuda)	s.t.
AUS	31	Nathan Haas	(Garmin - Barracuda)	s.t.
AUS	32	Luke Roberts	(Team Saxo Bank)	s.t.
BEL	33	Jurgen Roelandts	(Lotto - Belisol Team)	s.t.
NED	34	Arno Van Der Zwet	(Koga Cycling Team)	s.t.
GER	35	Christoph Pfingsten	(Cycling Team De Rijke - Shanks)	s.t.
BEL	36	Jelle Wallays	(Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator)	s.t.
NED	37	Tom Dumoulin	(Argos-Shimano)	s.t.
NED	38	Tijmen Eising	(Sunweb - Revor)	s.t.
BEL	39	James Vanlandschoot	(Accent.jobs – Willems Veranda’s)	s.t.
NED	40	Lars Boom	(Rabobank Cycling Team)	s.t.
RUS	41	Valery Kaikov	(Team Rusvelo)	s.t.
BEL	42	Laurens De Vreese	(Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator)	s.t.
NED	43	Dirk Bellemakers	(Landbouwkrediet - Euphony)	s.t.
BEL	44	Dries Hollanders	(Metec Continental Cyclingteam)	s.t.
BEL	45	Nikolas Maes	(Omega Pharma - Quickstep)	s.t.
ITA	46	Manuele Boaro	(Team Saxo Bank)	s.t.
BEL	47	Gijs Van Hoecke	(Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator)	s.t.
NED	48	Pim Ligthart	(Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team)	s.t.
NED	49	Tom Veelers	(Argos-Shimano)	s.t.
ITA	50	Davide Appollonio	(Sky Procycling)	s.t.
BEL	51	Rob Goris	(Accent.jobs – Willems Veranda’s)	s.t.
GER	52	Andre Schulze	(Team NetApp)	s.t.
NED	53	Wouter Mol	(Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team)	s.t.
NED	54	Arnoud Van Groen	(Accent.jobs – Willems Veranda’s)	s.t.
NED	55	Stef Clement	(Rabobank Cycling Team)	s.t.
RUS	56	Sergey Firsanov	(Team Rusvelo)	s.t.
NED	57	Dennis Van Winden	(Rabobank Cycling Team)	s.t.
POL	58	Jaroslaw Marycz	(Team Saxo Bank)	s.t.
NED	59	Koen De Kort	(Argos-Shimano)	s.t.
BEL	60	Vinnie Braet	(Sunweb - Revor)	s.t.
BEL	61	Pieter Vanspeybrouck	(Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator)	s.t.
BEL	62	Bjorn Leukemans	(Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team)	s.t.
NED	63	Tom Leezer	(Rabobank Cycling Team)	s.t.
ITA	64	Marco Bandiera	(Omega Pharma - Quickstep)	s.t.
RUS	65	Alexey Tsatevitch	(Katusha Team)	s.t.
USA	66	Jacob Rathe	(Garmin - Barracuda)	s.t.
GER	67	Grischa Janorschke	(Team NetApp)	s.t.
DEN	68	Lars Ytting Bak	(Lotto - Belisol Team)	s.t.
DEN	69	Jonas Aaen Jorgensen	(Team Saxo Bank)	s.t.
RUS	70	Nikita Eskov	(Team Rusvelo)	s.t.
NED	71	Michel Kreder	(Garmin - Barracuda)	s.t.
CZE	72	Leopold Konig	(Team NetApp)	s.t.
RUS	73	Sergey Klimov	(Team Rusvelo)	s.t.
NED	74	Roy Curvers	(Argos-Shimano)	s.t.
NED	75	Jetse Bol	(Rabobank Cycling Team)	s.t.
NED	76	Martijn Keizer	(Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team)	s.t.
RUS	77	Dmitry Kozontchuk	(Team Rusvelo)	s.t.
GBR	78	Andrew Fenn	(Omega Pharma - Quickstep)	s.t.
LTU	79	Ramunas Navardauskas	(Garmin - Barracuda)	s.t.
NED	80	Robin Chaigneau	(Koga Cycling Team)	s.t.
GER	81	Patrick Gretsch	(Argos-Shimano)	s.t.
NED	82	Dennis Smit	(Metec Continental Cyclingteam)	s.t.
BEL	83	Sven Vandousselaere	(Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator)	s.t.
BEL	84	Pieter Jacobs	(Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator)	s.t.
GER	85	Marcel Sieberg	(Lotto - Belisol Team)	s.t.
AUS	86	Adam Hansen	(Lotto - Belisol Team)	s.t.
NED	87	Remco Te Brake	(Cycling Team De Rijke - Shanks)	s.t.
NED	88	Rick Flens	(Rabobank Cycling Team)	s.t.
POR	89	Nelson Oliveira	(RadioShack - Nissan)	s.t.
BEL	90	Ben Hermans	(RadioShack - Nissan)	s.t.
NED	91	Reinier Honig	(Landbouwkrediet - Euphony)	s.t.
ESP	92	Juan Antonio Flecha	(Sky Procycling)	s.t.
BEL	93	Klaas Vantornout	(Sunweb - Revor)	s.t.
NED	94	Jim Van Den Berg	(Koga Cycling Team)	s.t.
GBR	95	Jeremy Hunt	(Sky Procycling)	s.t.
SLO	96	Blaz Jarc	(Team NetApp)	s.t.
NED	97	Bart Van Haaren	(Koga Cycling Team)	s.t.
NED	98	Lars Vierbergen	(Koga Cycling Team)	s.t.
BEL	99	Thomas De Gendt	(Vacansoleil - DCM Pro Cycling Team)	s.t.
BLR	100	Aleksandr Kuschynski	(Katusha Team)	s.t.
RUS	101	Petr Ignatenko	(Katusha Team)	s.t.
GER	102	Michael Schwarzmann	(Team NetApp)	s.t.
GBR	103	Ian Stannard	(Sky Procycling)	s.t.
NED	104	Geert Van Der Weijst	(Cyclingteam Jo Piels)	s.t.
NED	105	Flavio Pasquino	(Metec Continental Cyclingteam)	s.t.
BEL	106	Kristof Vandewalle	(Omega Pharma - Quickstep)	s.t.
RUS	107	Mikhail Ignatyev	(Katusha Team)	s.t.
NED	108	Sjors Roosen	(Cyclingteam Jo Piels)	s.t.
NED	109	Martijn Maaskant	(Garmin - Barracuda)	s.t.
NED	110	Huub Duyn	(Cycling Team De Rijke - Shanks)	s.t.
GER	111	Jens Voigt	(RadioShack - Nissan)	s.t.
SUI	112	Marcel Wyss	(Team NetApp)	s.t.
ARG	113	Juan Jose Haedo	(Team Saxo Bank)	s.t.
USA	114	Benjamin King	(RadioShack - Nissan)	s.t.
BEL	115	Jérôme Gilbert	(Accent.jobs – Willems Veranda’s)	s.t.
GER	116	Robert Wagner	(RadioShack - Nissan)	s.t.
BEL	117	Guillaume Van Keirsbulck	(Omega Pharma - Quickstep)	s.t.
BEL	118	Leif Hoste	(Accent.jobs – Willems Veranda’s)	s.t.
BEL	119	Kevin Pauwels	(Sunweb - Revor)	s.t.
BEL	120	Wim De Vocht	(Accent.jobs – Willems Veranda’s)	s.t.
NED	121	Luc Hagenaars	(Metec Continental Cyclingteam)	s.t.
CZE	122	Frantisek Rabon	(Omega Pharma - Quickstep)	s.t.
NED	123	Stefan Poutsma	(Cyclingteam Jo Piels)	s.t.
NED	124	Dion Beukeboom	(Cycling Team De Rijke - Shanks)	s.t.
NED	125	Jesper Schipper	(Cycling Team De Rijke - Shanks)	s.t.
NED	126	Sander Oostlander	(Cyclingteam Jo Piels)	s.t.
GER	127	Markus Eichler	(Team NetApp)	s.t.
BEL	128	Jim Aernouts	(Sunweb - Revor)	s.t.
BEL	129	Jens Debusschere	(Lotto - Belisol Team)	s.t.
GBR	130	Alex Dowsett	(Sky Procycling)	s.t.
BEL	131	Maxime Vantomme	(Katusha Team)	s.t.
NED	132	Adrie Lindeman	(Metec Continental Cyclingteam)	s.t.
BEL	133	Jerome Baugnies	(Team NetApp)	s.t.
RUS	134	Valery Valynin	(Team Rusvelo)	s.t.
NED	135	Pim De Beer	(Cyclingteam Jo Piels)	s.t.
NED	136	Jeffrey Wiersma	(Metec Continental Cyclingteam)	s.t.
AUT	137	Bernhard Eisel	(Sky Procycling)	s.t.
eft">138	Ronan Van Zandbeek	(Argos-Shimano)	s.t.
NED	139	Albert Timmer	(Argos-Shimano)	s.t.
NED	140	Rens Te Stroet	(Cyclingteam Jo Piels)	s.t.
NED	141	Sierk-jan De Haan	(Cyclingteam Jo Piels)	s.t.
DEN	142	Kasper Larsen Klostergaard	(Team Saxo Bank)	s.t.
BEL	143	Vincent Baestaens	(Landbouwkrediet - Euphony)	00:00:27
NED	144	Jurriën Bosters	(Metec Continental Cyclingteam)	00:01:19
LTU	145	Egidijus Juodvalkis	(Landbouwkrediet - Euphony)	00:02:14
NED	146	Roy Eefting	(Koga Cycling Team)	s.t.
DEN	147	Alex Rasmussen	(Garmin - Barracuda)	00:02:22
NED	148	Mats Boeve	(Cycling Team De Rijke - Shanks)	00:03:17
GER	149	Rüdiger Selig	(Katusha Team)	s.t.
RUS	150	Alexander Porsev	(Katusha Team)	s.t.
NED	151	Geertjan Jonkman	(Koga Cycling Team)	00:03:48
BEL	152	Sven Beelen	(Sunweb - Revor)	00:06:20
BEL	153	Matthias Bossuyt	(Sunweb - Revor)	s.t.
NED	154	Joost Van Leijen	(Lotto - Belisol Team)	00:00:46
NED	155	Bobbie Traksel	(Landbouwkrediet - Euphony)	s.t.
NED	DNF	Johim Ariesen	(Koga Cycling Team)