The burly German, who now has 11 Tour stage wins in total, had also won the second stage on Sunday, before the tears started to flow that time as well.
Frenchman Arnaud Demare was second with Andre Greipel of Germany third on the 216km sixth stage as reigning champion Chris Froome retained his race lead.
But unlike the previous two stages that ended in bunch sprints, this time there was no crash.
As the Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected an appeal by world champion Peter Sagan against his disqualification for elbowing Mark Cavendish into the metal safety railings, and out of the Tour, on Tuesday, this dash to the line thankfully passed off without incident.
And Kittel, as he had done on Sunday, proved too strong for his rivals, reaching a maximum speed of 71.17kph at one stage, according to official Tour data, as he surged from well down the field to breeze past all challengers and win.
“I took the right wheel and then attacked with 250 metres to go,” explained Kittel. “I knew in finale if I had good legs, in the final kilometre I would be able to find a gap, and I found it with 250 metres left.”
That show of force suggested Kittel, 29, is back to form he showed in 2013 and 2014 when he won four Tour stages in each year.
His victory took him level on stage wins with compatriot Greipel and only one behind the German record of 12 taken by Erik Zabel, who won six consecutive green jerseys from 1996-2001 — itself a record.
After Wednesday’s fireworks on the climb to La Planche des Belles Filles, the overall race favourites had a quiet day in the saddle, with Geraint Thomas remaining second at 12sec from his British compatriot and Sky team leader Froome, with stage five winner Fabio Aru third at 14sec.
In fact the biggest drama they had was earlier in the day when a parasol blew across the road right in front of the peloton, causing several riders to take evasive action, although fortunately they were not going full throttle at that point.
Demare, winner of Tuesday’s fourth stage, may have been beaten into second but he had the consolation of taking enough points to hold onto the sprinters’ green points jersey, although Kittel closed his lead to 27 points.
Results and standings
Stage 6 results
1. Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step) 5:05:34”
2. Arnaud Demare (FDJ) ST
3. Andre Greipel (Lotto)
4. Alexander Kristoff (Katusha)
5. Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis)
6. Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL)
7. Michael Matthews (Sunweb)
8. Daniel McLay (Fortuneo)
9. Ruediger Selig (BORA)
10. John Degenkolb (Trek)
Overall standings
1. Chris Froome (Sky) 23:44:33”
2. Geraint Thomas (Sky) +12”
3. Fabio Aru (Astana) +14”
4. Daniel Martin (Quick-Step) +25”
5. Richie Porte (BMC Racing) +39”
6. Simon Yates (Orica) +43”
7. Romain Bardet (AG2R) +47”
8. Alberto Contador (Trek) +52”
9. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +54”
10. Rafal Majka (BORA) +1:01”
A day on the Tour
STATISTIC OF THE DAY: 75.04
In kph, the maximum speed of French champion Arnaud Demare 400m from the finish line. It was not enough for the FDJ rider, who ended up second behind German Marcel Kittel, who hit 71.17 kph 90m from the line.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It was one of my most relaxed days on the Tour de France” — race leader Chris Froome after 216 km in the saddle in temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).
FACT OF THE DAY: With 11 Tour de France stage wins to his name, Kittel joined Andre Greipel in second position in the German rankings of riders with the most Tour stage victories, one shy of Erik Zabel’s record.
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