Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) stayed calm in the chaos that ruled in the final part of today's first stage of the Tour de France and rode himself into yellow by taking a marvellous sprint win. Having been forced due abandon last year's race with a stomach infection, the German was delighted to finally prove that he has what it takes to win at the world's biggest bike race.

The starts of Marcel Kittel's first two Tours de France could not have been more different. Last year, the eager debutant was ready to mix it up with the sprinting giants Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel but a stomach infection took him out of the race without even allowing him to contest a sprint at all.

This year he escaped the late carnage to finally open up the immense power that had seen him develop into one of the three best sprinters in the world. He left behind Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Danny Van Poppel (Vacansoleil) to take the first leader's jersey at the world's biggest bike race.

A maiden Tour stage win is always something special but the result was extra sweet due to last year's disappointment.

“Today is a dream come true,” he said. “Last year was a big disappointment when I had to abandon the Tour due to sickness, but since then I’ve been even more eager to win a stage. From the winter we have prepared ourselves for the Tour and to win the first stage today and wear the yellow jersey tomorrow is just unbelievable."

While Cavendish and Greipel were both taken out of contention due to a late crash, Kittel stayed safe in the other side of the road. He thanked his teammates for their great work to navigate him safely through the chaos.

“I am really proud of all my teammates who did an amazing job today," he said. "They worked throughout the whole day to keep me in good position and to protect me. The final was very hectic but the guys stayed calm and they knew exactly what to do. They reorganised after the crash and took up responsibility. Experience, teamwork and working for a long time together made sure that we all stayed relaxed."

Kittel turned professional at Argos-Shimano prior to the 2011 season and quickly evolved into one of the world's leading sprinters. The German was happy to pay back the Dutch squad for the trust they had shown him from the very beginning.

“I am so happy that we achieved this victory for the team as well," he said. "They gave me the chance to become a professional cyclist and developed me into the sprinter that I am today. We have a unique way of working with coaches focused on creating a team and today our scientific and innovative way of working paid off with the yellow jersey. I couldn’t hope for a better thank you.”

For the last couple of years, Argos-Shimano has put a lot of effort into creating a strong lead-out train and the winning combination of Koen De Kort, Tom Veelers and Kittel have developed into one of the strongest units in the hectic sprint finals. Coach Rudi Kemna - himself a former sprinter - praised the work that had laid the foundation for today's win.

“This is just unbelievable, winning the first stage in the Tour de France and taking the yellow jersey is amazing,” he said. “We have ridden the race as we wanted and everything fell right into place. The final was really hectic, but our riders stay calm and focused. We have worked for many years to reach this level and create the perfect sprint train with our experts analysing all the data in the science lab, our coaches preparing the riders tactically and of course all the other staff that make this result happen. This is the perfect start for a grand tour and I am really looking forward to the other stages. This gives us a lot of confidence.”

Prior to the race, some doubted that the team could handle the ambitions of the two super sprinters Kittel and John Degenkolb. However, they are of a very different nature with Kittel the faster of the two and Degenkolb more of a classics rider. Hence, the team will work for Kittel in the pure bunch sprints while Degenkolb will target the hillier stages.

The latter was delighted to have played his part in the team's good start.

“This is something really special and I have goosebumps all over my body," he said. "The whole team was focused on the sprint today and everybody believed in it. The whole race went very well. The final was chaos but we managed to stay calm and luckily we weren’t involved in the crash the final kilometres. To achieve a goal like this with the team is a feeling that I can’t describe.”

Degenkolb could get his first chance in tomorrow's second stage which is a hilly one in Corsica. Kittel is unlikely to survive the climbs, thus probably allowing his fellow German to take his chance in the expected sprint finish.

Starting at 13.15, you can follow the entire stage on CyclingQuotes.com/live.