Marcel Kittel returns to form with Tour of Poland stage win

After missing out on a ride in the Tour de France due to illness and lack of form, Marcel Kittel returns with a stage win at the Tour of Poland

Marcel Kittel wins stage one of the 2015 Tour of Poland
(Image credit: Watson)

German sprinter Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin) won the opening stage of the 2015 Tour of Poland on Sunday, his first race since missing out on selection for the Tour de France after suffering a protracted illness and losing race fitness.

The relatively short and flat opening stage around Warsaw ended up in a bunch sprint after the day's escape group was caught, with Kittel taking the victory ahead of Australian Caleb Ewan (Orica-GreenEdge) in second and Italian Niccolo Bonifazio (Lampre-Merida) in third.

Thanks to his time bonus, Kittel leads the race by six seconds over Ewan and 10 seconds over Bonifazio.

>>> Marcel Kittel to resume racing at Tour of Poland

Kittel has suffered from lingering illness throughout the 2015 season, and his Poland victory is his first since the People's Choice Classic back in January. He will be seeking more stage wins in the coming few stages of the race, and hoping to set up a successful end to what has been a torrid season so far.

The WorldTour-level Tour of Poland runs from Sunday, August 2, to Saturday, August 8, and features six road stages and a final individual time trial. The race continues on Monday with 146km stage two from Częstochowa to Dąbrowa Górnicza.

Home rider Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo) won the race last year, and ranks as one of the leading favourites alongside World Champion and compatriot Michal Kwiatkowski (Etixx-QuickStep).

>>> Tour of Poland 2015 preview

Marcel Kittel wins stage one of the 2015 Tour of Poland

Marcel Kittel wins stage one of the 2015 Tour of Poland
(Image credit: Watson)

Results

Tour of Poland 2015, stage one: Warsaw to Warsaw, 122km

1. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Giant-Alpecin

2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge

3. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-Merida

4. Dennis Van Winden (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo

5. Sebastien Turgot (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale

6. Kris Boekmans (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

7. Andrea Guardini (Ita) Astana

8. Lorrenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ

9. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Etixx-QuickStep

10. Ion Izagirre (Spa) Movistar all same time

Overall classification after stage one

1. Marcel Kittel (Ger) Giant-Alpecin

2. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge at 4 secs

3. Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-Merida at 6 secs

Video: Secrets of the toolbox - Giant-Alpecin

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Nigel Wynn
Former Associate Editor

Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.