Since Marcel Kittel left the race, no one has been able to beat Nacer Bouhanni in the Giro d'Italia sprints and today he again proved his superiority when he won the seventh stage of the race. However, the Frenchman refuses to be compared with Kittel and Mark Cavendish and prefers to concentrate on the current race where he now hopes to win the points jersey

With Marcel Kittel out of the race, Nacer Bouhanni has clearly emerged as the fastest sprinter in the Giro d'Italia. Three days ago he took his first grand tour stage win in Bari and today he added another win to his palmares when he narrowly held off Giacomo Nizzolo in Foligno.

Again it was his excellent ability to position himself that paid off as he managed to get onto Luka Mezgec's wheel when the Giant-Shimano train strung things out for the Slovenian sprinter. However, he faced a dangerous situation in the finale where he could easily have been boxed towards the barrier.

“I wanted to start my sprint as we came out of the bend, but I was on the right hand side and Matthews and NIzzolo closed the door to my left," he said. "I had to go right, saw a little gap, and managed to make my way through.

"Mezgec launched his sprint. I saw Matthews and Nizzolo come on my left so I had to pass along the fence. Fortunately Mezgec did not move to the right. If he had moved, I would have been boxed in. I finally came through and took the win. 

"I'm very happy and this time I was able to enjoy it because after my victory in Bari, I crossed the line without strength after the amazing end to the stage. 

“I took a point for 5th place in the intermediate sprint today, so in the mountain stages tomorrow and the day after, I’ll go for the  intermediate sprints and keep the jersey as long as I possibly can.

“Kittel and Cavendish are great sprinters. I’m only 23, and my goal is always to improve, not just from season to season, but every time I go out training. I try to learn from my mistakes, and I try never to make the same one twice. But I don’t think I can be compared with Kittel and Cavendish: their careers are very different from mine."

However, the sprinters almost got denied their chance when a strong break seemed to be riding away with the win. It required a concerted effort from all the sprint teams to bring them back.

"There was a 3'30'' gap at the top of the climb. It was much," Bouhanni said. "Immediately I asked three team riders to ride on the front.

"Once again, my teammates have done a fantastic job. In the end, it's Murilo (Fischer), Johan (Le Bon) and Seb (Chavanel) did the job. I'm really happy to have won for them."

"Everything was done without my intervention," sports director Martial Gayant said. "It's a real team. Laurent Pichon was not feeling very well and instead of waiting for the sprint and work with Sebastien Chavanel, he started to chase."

"This red jersey is a great challenge for Nacer and his teammates. This will give him the strength to move mountains."