Sprint king’s Tetris injection

MARCEL Kittel is now toying with his sprint rivals — the hulking German yesterday steamrolled his way to a fifth stage win from 11 starts.

Kittel’s searing acceleration again proved too much at the end of the crash-plagued 203.5km run from Eymet to Pau, flying past Dylan Groenewegen and Edvald Boasson Hagen to strike what’s become a familiar winning salute.

Australian Michael Matthews appeared well placed to challenge, but had to settle for fourth after he was cut off by Boasson Hagen just as he was about to jump.

Kittel, meanwhile, compared another day of domination to playing video games.

“It’s incredible because ... you know sometimes when you’re on your top level in the sprints, it’s like playing Tetris,” Kittel said. “The last games I’ve always got the right gaps. I never made a mistake, all the lines were perfect.

“I could today again jump from wheel to wheel. It’s incredible, I’m so happy.”

Kittel’s command of this year’s Tour de France sprint stages is approaching record levels. The Quick-Step Floors powerhouse has now won the most stages in a single Tour since Mark Cavendish in 2011.

With this year’s course a sprinter’s paradise and more opportunities on the horizon, Kittel is also closing on the record haul of eight stage wins.

Matthews’ fourth was a vast improvement on his 13th in Stage 10. But while he was encouraged, he was also left wondering what might have been after his path to the line was blocked. “I was talking to ‘Eddy’ [Boasson Hagen] after the finish and I was like, ‘What was that?’ and he said, ‘Oh yeah, I thought you were coming and I didn’t see anyone else’,” Matthews said.

Chris Froome still holds an 18-second lead over Italian Fabio Aru on general classification, with the Tour entering the Pyrenees overnight.

Froome hinted that attack might be the best form of defence as he looks to secure a fourth Tour crown. “I don’t think we want to let anyone come back on to GC [general classification],” Froome said.