Star Tour de France sprinter is a would-be 'computer nerd' who now earns $1.7 million racing bikes

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

German sports star Marcel Kittel has become one of cycling's fastest sprinters, and on Tuesday he won stage four of the Tour de France in Limoges at the end of the race's longest stage, which featured a grueling finish.

Here's a closer look at Kittel, who studied computer science before landing a contract to race bikes professionally: