German sprinter set up by Argos-Shimano at the end of a long, flat day in the Netherlands
Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) cruised to victory in the opening stage of the 2012 Eneco Tour, between Waalwijk and Middelburg, at the end of a long stage across the flatlands of the southern Netherlands. The German sprinter, who was forced to quit the previous month’s Tour de France through illness and injury, was led to the line perfectly by his team to take victory at a canter.
World under-23 champion Arnaud Démare (FDJ-BigMat) was second, a length behind Kittel, with double Olympic fourth place Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing) in third, after a number of the big sprinters were left behind a crash that hit the middle of the peloton with two kilometres to go.
"We have delivered a strong example of teamwork; everyone could see that," said Kittel afterwards. This was my first race after the Tour de France. I was off the bike for two weeks, so it was pretty hard for me today. The stage wins makes this is a fantastic day."
Kittel took the first leader's jersey of the race, and was hopeful - if not confident - of holding it after the following day's team time trial.
"The team is motivated and a well-oiled machine," he said. "We can work together very well, we have showed that today. We’ll go and try to keep the jersey, but we’ll not put too much pressure on it."
The break of the day came from Staf Scheirlinck (Accent.jobs-Willems Verandas) and Pablo Urtasun (Euskaltel-Euskadi), who escaped early in the stage and managed to open up a lead that peaked at 8’32”. As the peloton woke up shortly after the feedzone however, the duo was pulled in with 75km still to ride as they hit the coastal crosswinds.
With the big teams of the peloton keen to protect their leaders from the coastal crosswinds, nobody managed to escape again - although there was a brief attempt from Tim Declerq (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) - and the race was heading for a simple sprint. A crash with two kilometres to go either brought down or delayed a number of the big name sprinters however, and Argos-Shimano pulled the peloton to the line.
Flatlands and crosswinds are the order of the day
The 203.9km stage was to cross the flatlands of the southern Netherlands. The course featured nothing in the way of climbing, but the second half would be subject to the wind blowing off the North Sea as it crossed the exposed roads and dykes of Zeeland.
Scheirlinck and Urtasun escaped after just two kilometres, and managed to open a huge lead that reached 8’32” with 90km to go but, following the feedzone in Zierikzee, a number of teams began to come forward to pull them back. No one team had taken control, and the peloton was still moving at a relatively relaxed pace, but the time in front was beginning to tell for the two leaders, and their lead was falling steadily.
FDJ-BigMat, Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank, Rabobank, Lotto-Belisol and RadioShack-Nissan all had men in the working line and, as the pace rose sharply, the gap closed quickly. With 77km to go it was just three minutes and, realising that it was closing too quickly, the peloton eased up a little.
Omega Pharma-Quick Step and Rabobank stepped forward however, and started to shut it down again. Meanwhile, up the road, Scheirlinck and Urtasun had all but sat up as they could see the peloton across the flat fields behind them, and it was all over with 75km to go.
The sprinters’ teams then began to take control of the peloton, as Argos-Shimano and FDJ-BigMat put themselves on the front, with Katusha taking over. As the peloton crossed the long bridge over the Oosterschelde however, with a strong crosswind coming from the right, numerous teams began to fight for the front as they sought to protect their leaders.
As the peloton hit the start of the finishing circuit with 55km to go, and headed inland, things calmed down and the sprinters’ teams came forward again. With 50km to go Rabobank took control, and led the peloton across the Middelburg finish line with 43.8km to go.
With the coast approaching again with 39km to go the Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank took over, keeping Alberto Contador to the front and out of danger. Several other teams swarmed forward however, and Rabobank took over as the peloton approached the final 30km.
Garmin-Sharp came to the front as the race approached the north coast again, and began to split the peloton. Despite the high pace Tim Declerq (Topsport Vlaanderen-Mercator) managed to escape with 21km to go, but the young Belgian wasn’t able to get far ahead and was soon brought back.
Team Sky and then Omega Pharma-Quick Step took over, as most of the dropped riders fought to get back on, and began to string out the peloton. The Belgian team led the race into the final nine kilometres, but were pushed back as BMC Racing moved ahead. Into the final five kilometres however, the white jerseys of Argos-Shimano and FDJ-BigMat began to move ahead on one side of the road, with the blue jerseys of Garmin-Sharp on the other.
After a brief turn from Orica-GreenEdge, the Rabobank team took over onto the final two kilometres; the peloton was disrupted by a crash halfway back however, and Argos-Shimano came forward in force once again. The Dutch Professional Continental team pulled into the final kilometre, holding off a challenge from Giacomo Nizzolo (RadioShack-Nissan), and Kittel cruised to his first victory since June.