Marcel Kittel has said that he chose not to ride with disc brakes on his bike out of respect for his colleagues.
Team Sky's Owain Doull, had his shoe gouged by a disc break in the opening stage of the Abu Dhabi Tour and Kittel who won the second stage in a photo finsh, said in the after race press conference: "For me the decision to not ride disc brakes was also out of respect for colleagues. There was a bit of discussion about Owain Doull’s crash and injury being caused by the discs last night and I chose not to put oil on the fire.
"I’m still convinced that disc brake tech has a future in the sport but there’s still work to be done. A cage around the disc would relieve the worry of the other riders. I’m also not in favour of not everyone having the same equipment.”
The Quick Step rider beat Caleb Ewen and Mark Cavendish to the win at Al Marina and said: : “I think I already came from behind like that in the last stage in Dubai. Winning like that today gave it a little extra flavour. I can say that I’m very happy. I believed until the last moment. The wind was blowing into our faces and from the left, so it made sense to surf from wheel to wheel and pick up speed.
"I knew when I punctured early in the stage that it wasn’t going to be a moment for crosswinds, and that there was no danger. It was a quick change and I was back in the peloton very quickly.
"I haven’t seen the video but I guess Caleb was just beaten on the line and when you don’t carry on sprinting until the line comes that definitely helps your opponent, in this case me. It’s one of those mistakes that every sprinter has made."
The race leader, Mark Cavendish, said: “Today in all honesty Caleb was the strongest, riding into a block headwind. I couldn’t match him. I knew with a kilometre to go I was too far forward because in a headwind you need to be in the wheels. With Marcel’s strength he’s always going to come 5kmh faster, with his power. I went to pass Caleb but couldn’t do it.
"The wind was coming harder than anticipated in the finale and we seemed to be too close to the front too soon, with our four guys. I was relieved that Orica came so we could jump on them. Ideally you want to be further back in that wind.
"I’ve never sprinted off Caleb before and it’s the first time I’ve understood how hard it is to come off a small rider. There’s no difference between being on the wheel and in the wind.”
The White Jersey and second in the stage, Caleb Ewan, said after the finish line: “I haven’t seen how close it really was but I think the celebration is what cost me the stage today, which is pretty embarrassing. I also feel sorry for my team-mates. They did an awesome job and for me to stuff it up like that is a massive let-down to them as well.
"For the first 100 kilometres today I was sitting at the back of the bunch really struggling with my shoulder, then when it started to ramp up I started focusing on the race and didn’t really notice it as much. The team supported me from the start even when I said I probably wouldn’t sprint. They always believed in me and gave me a perfect lead-out.”
STAGE RESULT
1 - Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) 153km in 3h28’11”, average speed 44.095km/h
2 - Caleb Ewan (Orica - Scott) s.t.
3 - Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data) s.t.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 - Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data)
2 - Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors) at 4"
3 - Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) at 8"
JERSEYS
- The Red Jersey, sponsored by the Al Maryah Island (General individual classification by time) - Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data)
- The Green Jersey, sponsored by Nation Towers (General individual classification by points) - Mark Cavendish (Team Dimension Data). Jersey will be worn tomorrow by Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors)
- The White Jersey, sponsored by Abu Dhabi Sports Channel (Best Young Rider born after 1 January 1992) - Caleb Ewan (Orica - Scott)
- The Black Jersey, sponsored by Etihad Airways (Intermediate Sprint Jersey Classification) - Marco Canola (Nippo - Vini Fantini)
Article by Kev Monks for Digital Sports Group
Source: DSG
