Reflecting on the dramatic finale, Kittel admitted he thought he might run out of road.

“I really had no clue if I won or not,” he said. “On the finish line I just thought it would be close, so I just tried to make myself as long as possible [and throw for the line].

“I just had to pray that the door was opened on the right-hand side so I could pass Boasson Hagen and it was just enough.

“I am in great shape, and as a team we believed in this chance and this victory. Celebrating three stage wins already is incredible. I’m really happy.”

Van Baarle stubbornly hung on for a bit, but the handshake arrived with 6km to go and attention turned to the sprinters.

No team had a clear advantage as they jostled for position, with the speed ramping up to more than 65km/h, and tensions rose as Arnaud Demare (FDJ) and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) touched elbows.

Under the flamme rouge there was still no team in clear control of the bunch but all the sprint teams were present before Janse van Rensburg hit the front to deliver a monster lead-out.

He dropped Boasson Hagen off with less than 200m to go, and Kittel looked to have run out of road to overtake him, but found a turn of pace just in time to snatch victory.

Tour de France 2017: stage seven – result

1) Marcel Kittel (GER) – QuickStep Floors – 5.03.18hrs
2) Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR) – Dimension Data – ST
3) Michael Matthews (AUS) – Team Sunweb
4) Alexander Kristoff (NOR) – Katusha-Alpecin
5) John Degenkolb (GER) – Trek-Segafredo
6) Dylan Groenewegen (NED) – LottoNL-Jumbo
7) Rudiger Selig (GER) – Bora-hansgrohe
8) Nacer Bouhanni (FRA) – Cofidis
9) Andre Greipel (GER) – Lotto-Soudal
10) Dan McLay (GBR) – Fortuneo-Oscaro

General classification

1) Chris Froome (GBR) – Team Sky – 28.47.51hrs
2) Geraint Thomas (GBR) – Team Sky +12″
3) Fabio Aru (ITA) – Astana +14″
4) Daniel Martin (IRL) – QuickStep Floors +25″
5) Richie Porte (AUS) – BMC Racing +39″
6) Simon Yates (GBR) – Orica-Scott +43″
7) Romain Bardet (FRA) – Ag2r-La Mondiale +47″
8) Alberto Contador (ESP) – Trek-Segafredo +52″
9) Nairo Quintana (COL) – Movistar +54″
10) Rafal Majka (POL) – Bora-hansgrohe +1.01