Marcel Kittel has celebrated winning what he called an "awesome" Tour de France stage in front of Buckingham Palace as he emphasised his status as the best sprinter in the world.
The 26-year-old German on Monday won his second stage out of three at this year's Grand Boucle as he proved too strong for the sprint competition on the 155km stage from sunny Cambridge to wet London.
"It was awesome, I'm really happy I could win this stage in front of Buckingham Palace. There were amazing crowds, great scenery, the team did a really good job, which was a great advertisement for our lead-out train," Kittel said.
Without former world champion and 25-time Tour stage winner Mark Cavendish for competition, Kittel looked in a class of his own.
Cavendish crashed on the finish to the first stage in Harrogate on Saturday and dislocated his collarbone, withdrawing from the race before the start of Sunday's second stage from York.
Kittel admitted Cavendish's absence made his job easier.
"That's one big opponent that's not in the race anymore. Of course it changes things for me and also the team. We have to take it into account for the next few stages," he said.
Launched perfectly by his Giant-Shimano team, the battle behind Kittel was merely for his back wheel and the slipstream his huge frame provides.
Peter Sagan, who took second on the stage ahead of Australian Mark Renshaw, won that particular battle but never had the strength nor the belief to try to dive out from behind Kittel to go for the win.
Slovakia's Sagan at least held on to his green points jersey, though.
Kittel simply led home a procession, turning the final dash to the line into a demonstration of his pace and power.
Race leader Vincenzo Nibali kept out of trouble and enjoyed his first ever day in yellow.
"What can I say, I'm really, really happy because today there were even more people than the other days," he said.
"Maybe the rain ruined the party a bit but it was still a good day. I tried to look after the jersey and stay clear from trouble right to the end.
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