Kittel, the 26-year-old German who rides for the Giant-Shimano team, took four stage victories en route winning the green jersey for the best sprinter at last years Tour, but is now looking well set to comfortably surpass that tally this time around. 

After breaking clear in the final metres of the first stage from York to Harrogate on Saturday (July 5), Kittel positioned himself at the front of the pack as the peloton approached the Mall after completing the 96.3 mile journey south from Cambridge.

Despite the best efforts of his rivals, the German ultimately finished two bike lengths clear of Slovakia's two-time former green jersey winner Peter Sagen, who also finished second on stage one, while Australian Mark Renshaw was third. 

Italy's stage two winner Vincenzo Nibali finished safely in the pack to retain his two second lead in the yellow jersey standings. 

Kittel appears to be already profiting from the absence of sprint rival Mark Cavendish, after the 25-time stage winner was forced to withdraw from the race after a heavy crssh 300 metres from the finish line of stage one, as well as the lack of form shown so far by German compatriot Andre Greipel. 

But Kittel insisted afterwards that he considers the win as alongside some of the greatest triumphs of his career. 

"Emotionally, this win is close to the one I got on the Champs-Elysees in Paris last year," the 26-year-old said.

"Winning on The Mall, that's what I dreamed of. It's really fantastic to win here.

"On the finishing line, the crowd was fantastic, I love the atmosphere."

The final day on British shores took in several iconic London landmarks before the sprint finish on the Mall ©Getty Images



Although the focus in the build-up appeared far more low key than for the two stages in Yorkshire, thousands of people still lined a route taking in many of the British capital city's most famous landmarks.

The race will now cross the channel overnight before a first test on French soil tomorrow, a 101.6 mile predominantly flat affair from Le Touquet to Lille Metropole.

But although the race will approach the mountains by the end of the week, there will be three more flat stages before then which should provide more opportunities for Kittel to claim stage victories before the real test begins for the overall contenders.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
July 2014: Cavendish set to miss Glasgow 2014 in blow for Isle of Man after Tour de France horror crash
July 2014: Nibali lays down early marker by winning stage two of Tour de France in Yorkshire
July 2014: Kittel wins opening stage of Tour de France in Yorkshire after Cavendish heartbreak
July 2014: Leeds hosts official Tour de France Opening Ceremony