A chaotic start ten years ago: When Kittel's star rose at the Tour de France

Marcel Kittel had to share the attention with a bus. And in principle, the bus was even slightly ahead in the favour of general interest, the images were simply too absurd: the roof of the Orica-GreenEdge team bus was stuck on the steel arch above the finish line, it was stuck. And this happened less than 20 minutes before the finish of the first stage of the 2013 Tour de France in Bastia, an expected bunch sprint. A scenario that could not have been imagined - and which earned the stage its place in the Tour history books.

However, there was one other image that remains a lasting memory of the day: Marcel Kittel, who shakes both fists at the finish line and shouts out his pure happiness at his victory. The bus had been freed shortly beforehand and the finish area now belonged to Kittel. The end of a nerve-wracking opening stage of the 2013 Tour de France.

Special start to the Tour de France

The organisers had come up with something special for the 100th anniversary edition of the Tour de France: For the first time, the Tour of France made a guest appearance on the island of Corsica, and the opening stage was a flat stage for the sprinters - with the chance to win the yellow jersey. Sprint stages at the start of the Tour are now almost a habit, but in 2013 this was something new.

Kittel, competing for Argos-Shimano, was considered an insider tip. His season to date has been outstanding with eleven victories, but the Tour is the Tour, a different number. "I was actually one of the favourites. The problem for me, however, was that I hadn't yet proven myself at this level - but that was also the motivation," says Kittel today. Last year, his debut at the Tour only lasted five days before stomach problems forced him to retire. He was unable to take part in the sprint decisions back then, but that should change now, according to the goal.

>> This is the route of the Tour de France 2023

Argos-Shimano went into the race as underdogs

However, Mark Cavendish, Andre Greipel and Peter Sagan and their teams took centre stage for the stage, leaving Kittel's team with the role of "underdog", which they gratefully accepted. "That was a big advantage for us, as we didn't have too much to prove in the race," said Kittel.

The stage initially followed the planned script: a five-man escape group broke away, gained a few minutes of advantage and was soon caught up again. This was as predictable as it was uneventful. However, the race events changed with a TV insert twelve kilometres before the finish: a bus, a finishing arch, an uneasy feeling.

Why the Orica bus crossed the finishing straight shortly before the arrival remained unclear even after the event. The bus driver later claimed that an employee of the Tour organisation had told him to do so, but the Tour contradicted this. Nobody wanted to take the blame for this bizarre incident. However, the bus was stuck, ruling out a sprint to the finish. Numerous people, who looked important but also had no solution, ran around the bus. A jack drove up briefly, but immediately disappeared again. The bus didn't move a metre. Chaos and helplessness.

Different information in the driver field

The information situation in the approaching field of drivers? "It was all there. From: I've already heard that the race is neutralised. Up to: What kind of bus? The finish is being changed? We were more in the latter category," says Kittel. At some point, he was informed over the radio by his sports director Rudi Kemna that the finish line was at the finish - where else, Kittel wondered irritably at the time. "We had no idea that there was a bus in there. But that was a good thing, so we didn't have to worry about it." In the meantime, the Tour organisation even decided to move the finish line to the three-kilometre marker, which was located at the entrance to a roundabout, out of necessity.

There was uncertainty in the peloton, which Kittel also felt. Shortly afterwards, five kilometres before the finish, there was a mass crash in which Tony Martin, among others, went down hard, but Cavendish and Sagan were also held up. A few moments later, Greipel was standing at the side of the road with material damage. "There was a huge crash and it felt like half the peloton was gone. It was totally confusing. After a crash like that, you briefly orientate yourself, who's still there, I didn't see Cavendish anymore, no one from Lotto Belisol - and suddenly it was clear that we had to do the race now," says Kittel. At the same time, someone at the finish line had the saving idea of letting air out of the bus tyres, which allowed the vehicle to free itself backwards at the last minute, so to speak. A clear run to the finish line.

Four of Kittel's team-mates were still in the decimated group after the mass crash: John Degenkolb, Simon Geschke, Tom Dumoulin and Tom Veelers took him to the final 500 metres. "I wasn't right at the front for the final sprint and then orientated myself to the left, as the rest of the group was travelling on the right. I knew a door was about to open. I waited quite a long time, it all happened automatically, I didn't think much about it," says Kittel. From the slipstream of the Lotto-Belisol rider Greg Henderson, Kittel started his sprint on the left, while at the same time Alexander Kristoff sprinted away on the right - but was ultimately powerless against Kittel's power.

"Surreal" moment for Marcel Kittel

"I remember rolling across the finish line, that was a what-the-fuck moment. Is that really happening right now? My first Tour stage - and then yellow. It was all surreal," says Kittel. A stage winner at the Tour de France is pushed from one protocol point to the next - especially after the opening stage. Podium visits for the stage win, for the yellow jersey, the green jersey and the white jersey, press conference and doping control - the programme leaves hardly any time for reflection.

Kittel only realised what he had just achieved in the car back to the hotel with team manager Iwan Spekenbrink. "That's when I briefly realised it," says Kittel and adds: "It was a really nice team moment in the hotel, the yellow jersey was hanging there, we popped bottles of champagne, it was a very special atmosphere that didn't leave anyone cold, you could tell."

However, he first heard about the bus blockade at the finish line. "I was immediately asked if I had heard about it - and all I could say was: no idea. We didn't know how close it all was. In hindsight, it was really bizarre," says Kittel today.

Marcel Kittel: The right winner for Christian Prudhomme

Although he lost the yellow jersey on the hilly 2nd stage, the opening victory was nevertheless the foundation stone for a successful Tour, in which he won three further stages - including the final stage on the Champs Elysees. In hindsight, Kittel believes that Tour boss Christian Prudhomme was also delighted that a German rider won the opening stage with him. "And then over the years it has become a standard that there is often a sprint stage at the start. Also to push German cycling a little further. The Tour was very conscious of that," says Kittel. In 2014, he won the flat 1st stage in England again and took yellow.

German cycling played a significant role in the Tour in the following years, particularly thanks to sprinters Kittel and Greipel and time trialist Martin: between 2013 and 2017, there were 26 German stage wins. "Those were golden years until 2017 and Germany was a permanent fixture at the Tour. I believe that 2013 was the beginning of rekindling a love on the part of the fans," says Kittel. With 14 stage wins, he is now the German record winner at the Tour de France.