German sprinter Marcel Kittel claimed the first stage of the 2013 Tour of Turkey earlier today. With his speed, he forced André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) into second place and Yuri Metlushenko (Torku Sekerspor) into third. The win gives Kittel the first leader’s jersey of the race. 

 
The only hill of the day saw five riders go on the attack. The rest of the stage was flat. The break achieved a maximum gap of 5 minutes but was easily controlled by the sprinters’ teams.
 
A bunch sprint was in the making, and Team Argos-Shimano worked to position Kittel in front. After a lead-out by last man Koen de Kort, Kittel jumped to an impressive sprint win ahead of Greipel.
 
“Our team took responsibility today. We tried not to let the gap get too big,” said sports manager Marc Reef. “Initially no other teams were willing to help, but when the break’s advantage grew to more than 5 minutes they joined us. 
 
“Before the stage we made a good plan, based on our experience from last year, and everyone knew what to do. It worked out perfectly—the timing was fantastic. Marcel is in great form and the team is at a high level. Tomorrow we will protect Marcel’s leader’s jersey and aim for another sprint win for him.”
 
“Today was a very good example of how a team should work,” said Kittel. “In the last 5 km we had to brake because of a crash, which forced us to chase back, but the guys did their job and we moved up to the front all together.
 
“I was able to start sprinting late, with Koen leading me out. When the other riders around me started their sprint I followed. I had to find a gap, which wasn’t a problem, and I was able to pass them.
 
“I have really good legs at the moment. Last week we had a great training camp at the team’s base in Spain, and we worked hard on our sprint, conditioning and also tactics, and this win is a great reward. I look forward to wearing the leader’s jersey tomorrow and hope to wear it for another day.”