In the tight final in Dublin, it looked over the last 350 meters as if Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) would have to admit defeat this time. But he really gave it his all and amazed both the competitors and all the experts with this gigantic sprint - probably one of the strongest sprints we have seen at a tour in recent years.
Kittel was not in a promising situation and no longer believed in a stage victory. In the last 100 meters he showed that he is currently by far the fastest man on a bike. First to be beaten was Ben Swift (Team Sky) ahead of Elia Viviani (Cannondale) and Davide Apollonio (Ag2R).Australia's Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) defended the pink jersey and leads Italy's Alessandro Petacchi (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) by eight seconds.
Today's stage took the peloton across borders from Northern Ireland to Ireland, where the stage destination was in the capital Dublin. Despite the high average speed of almost 42 km/h, the day was marked by a large number of falls. Even as the rain-soaked roads slowly dried, the peloton kept faltering. A breakaway group that fought for a long time was still placed well ahead of Dublin - the renewed chance of a sprint victory was too important for many teams.
daily result
- Marcel Kittel (Ger, Team Giant) 4:28:43
- Ben Swift (GBr, Team Sky)
- Elijah Viviani (Ita, Cannondale)
- Davide Apollonio (Ita, AG2R La Mondiale)
- Nacer Bouhanni (Fra, FDJ.fr)
- Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor, Team Sky)
- Roberto Ferrari (Ita, Lampre)
- Edwin Avila (Col, Colombia)
- Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita, Trek Factory Racing)
- Tyler Farrar (USA, Garmin Sharp)
Overall rating
- Michael Matthews (Aus, Orica Greenedge) 10:06:37
- Alessandro Petacchi (Ita, Omega Pharma) +0:08
- Daniel Oss (Ita, BMC Racing Team) +0:10
- Luke Durbridge (Aus, Orica Greenedge) +0:14
- Ivan Santaromita (Ita, Orica Greenedge)
- Svein Tuft (Can, Orica Greenedge)
- Pieter WeeningNed, Orica Greenedge
- Cameron Meyer (Aus, Orica Greenedge)
- Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col, Omega Pharma) +0:19
- Gianluca Brambilla (Ita, Omega Pharma)