Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) closed out the Giro d’Italia’s Grande Partenza in style, taking his second straight victory and the pink jersey. Like the rest of the peloton, Kittel now heads to the south of Italy to begin the next leg of the corsa rosa.
Before heading off to Italy, the German sat down for a video interview for the team’s website to recount his performance of the past three days. “I’m very proud and very happy to have that jersey and to be able to say three days into the Giro that our mission to fight for pink and glory is accomplished,” said Kittel.
“A good time trial in the first stage was the base to be able to go for the pink jersey. It was all step by step and the time trial was the first step and then the rest had to follow and fortunately it did.”
Kittel’s victory in Arnhem ensured that he maintained his 100 per cent victory when it comes to road stage at the Giro d’Italia. As he has done in the Netherlands, Kittel swept the boards during the Grande Partenza in Northern Ireland in 2014.
“It’s my lucky race,” he said before checking himself. “Actually not, the only reason that I can say that I’ve won every [road] stage that I’ve taken part in is because I was sick after the third stage in 2014. It’s going to be difficult to keep that statistic.”
The Giro d’Italia will resume on Tuesday May 10 with a lumpy stage from Catanzaro to Praia a Mare.
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