Going into the last kilometre, Lotto-Belisol’s André Greipel was the man to beat. His team had formed a well-oiled sprint train and delivered him to the front perfectly. But in the end, they were left empty-handed when the German was passed by Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) on the final metres, giving Kittel a clear victory.

Greg Henderson had done a great lead out, and Greipel started sprinting with 150 m to go, just before the final corner. However, after the corner, Greipel didn’t have the same speed as before it, and was ultimately beaten to the line by Kittel.

After the stage, Greipel accepted full responsibility, saying he made a mistake in the final corner: “Unfortunately lost a TdF speed final by my mistake in the last corner. Scared in that last corner, lost momentum and speed,” the 30-year old posted on Twitter. He continued by praising the work of his teammates: “Lotto Belisol train was the strongest by far. Today I could feel what happens if the boys put me so fast in front before a corner. My mistake.”