Kittel wins the sprint in Sitiawan

“First I have to say a big thank you to my team,” said Kittel. “The lead out worked really well. I got in the best position I could have for sprinting.”

The stage was lively early on, with riders trying to get clear of the peloton, but every move was shut down. It wasn’t until Loh Sea Keong (Malaysian National Team) and Rhys Pollock (Drapac) broke away 60 kilometres into the stage that a move got away. The duo built an advantage of just over four minutes as the peloton led by Farnese Vini kept them in check. The leaders fought hard to stay away but ultimately got caught five kilometres from the finish.

Farnese Vini were leading the peloton and did the best they could to deliver Guardini to a third win but Kittel was to ruin their party, proving too fast and securing a huge victory.

Marcel Kittel was third in the under-23 world championships last year and the 22-year-old was thrilled with his win today.

“I didn’t know about the history of all these riders like Alessandro Petacchi who have collected their first win here or started their career here like Paolo Bettini…but it’s nice to hear,” explained Kittel. “As far as my future is concerned, I don’t want to compare myself with other riders,” stated Kittel. “I’m known as time triallist, especially since I got the bronze medal at the under-23 world championships last year, but I want to show during my first year as a pro that I can also be fast in sprints. Today is a good start.

“When I look at our team here, I see two good climbers and two good sprinters. For sprinting, we have Kenny van Hummel and myself. Today Kenny said he preferred to help me out so I had the privilege of going into the sprint with him and Koen de Kort in front of me,” said Kittel. “We don’t want to focus on only one person at Skil-Shimano. The whole team is really strong.”

Kittel admitted he was a bit reluctant to race in Asia, but seems to have grown a liking to Malaysia. “I was a little bit afraid when I got the call because racing in January is very early and it’s new to me. It’s completely different than what I’m used to in Europe. I feel a bit strange to begin my career in Asia where I’ve never raced before but I like it actually.

“I like the heat. The conditions for racing here are really good. It’s a nice country.”

Andrea Guardini’s third place kept him in the leader’s yellow jersey and he was pleased to still wear the jersey heading into the tough mountain stages over the coming days.

“It’s always difficult to keep going at a high level,” admitted Guardini. “My team did a great job today. We wanted to keep the yellow and blue jerseys and managed to do it. “I tried to win the sprint again today. The team did everything they could for me but third place is a great result.”

Stage four will take the riders to the Cameron Highlands, with an hors categorie climb on the menu. With Guardini being nominally a sprinter, a new overall leader may well emerge.