Tour de France: If you give up you can go home, says Kittel

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German frustrated but not disheartened after another missed opportunity

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Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin) looking relaxed at the start of stage 4(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)

Marcel Kittel half-threw, half-placed his bike against the Katusha-Alpecin bus when he arrived back after stage 4 of the Tour de France, as if he wanted to unleash his fury but suddenly thought better of it. The German had placed fifth, and while the frustration was clear to see, there wasn’t quite enough to warrant damaging an €8,000 piece of equipment.

Kittel dominated the sprints at last year’s Tour, collecting no fewer than five victories, but he has found life a little less straightforward this time around.

 

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Patrick Fletcher
Patrick Fletcher
Deputy Editor

Patrick is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish) and a decade’s experience in digital sports media, largely within the world of cycling. He re-joined Cyclingnews as Deputy Editor in February 2026, having previously spent eight years on staff between 2015 and 2023. In between, he was Deputy Editor at GCN and spent 18 months working across the sports portfolio at Future before returning to the cycling press pack. Patrick works across Cyclingnews’ wide-ranging output, assisting the Editor in global content strategy, with a particular focus on shaping CN's news operation.