Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) never got a chance to sprint in this year's Tirreno-Adriatico. After having crashed out of the first sprint stage, the big German was dropped on the late climbs when Cannondale applied the pressure and despite a hard chase by his team, he never got back in contention.

Marcel Kittel and his Team Giant-Shimano teammates were caught out in the closing stages of Tirreno-Adriatico stage 6 when other teams applied early pressure on the hills in the run in to the finish.

Kittel was twice distanced in the final 50km of the stage as the pace in the peloton was increased, with the second occasion proving to be too much.

Despite a frantic chase with the team, they could not get back in contact with the peloton and Kittel was reduced to finishing in the second group on the road.

Following the stage, Kittel was full of praise for his team, saying:

“I can’t thank my teammates enough for trying like they did today. It was all good until the final climbs where Cannondale tried to drop me. My team waited after I was distanced on the first climb and we got back on but then they did it again on the final climb.

“The guys waited again and went full gas to try and get me back to the front. We got really close and almost made it back but not quite. It was quite a display of teamwork and strength from the guys today. It didn’t work out for us today but it will be our day again soon.”

“The plan was to go for Marcel today but the two climbs with 40km to go proved too much,” said coach Aike Visbeek. “The guys did everything to bring him back but the other teams make sure the pace was kept high and difficult for us to come back.

“Nikias Arndt was still in the front bunch for the sprint however he was badly positioned behind the crash at the end and didn’t get a result.”

You can read our preview of the final stage here and follow our love coverage at 14.15 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.