As you would have expected, Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano), like all sprinters unsuited for a chain of mountainous stages, has suffered during the past three days of the Tour de France. Saturday’s summit finish was one the German sprinter feared in particular, but he managed to come through feeling alright.

"I am glad that we are finally through the mountains now, I must admit that the past days have been very hard. But today I was never in any danger, and I actually feel much better than yesterday but I also feel that the pressure has been lifted from my shoulders as I was dreading today,” the German sprint ace said after the undulating challenges facing the peloton in Saturday’s stage.

Kittel also expressed his readiness to do combat and seek to claim the sprinters’ most coveted stage in the French capital.
 

"My second goal in this Tour de France, after winning a stage, was to get to Paris and to sprint for victory on the Champs-Elysées, and that is what I am about to do now. I still feel good and we are ready for it."