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Sitting in with Marcel Kittel
- Updated: April 28, 2016
He still has the hair and the high-wattage smile, but does Marcel Kittel still have the kick that made him cycling’s top sprinter in 2014? Etixx – Quick-Step made a big bet that he does.
The 27-year-old German made an acrimonious departure from his longtime home at Giant – Alpecin after illness and poor training knocked him out of the fast lane. With just one victory in 2015, Kittel went sailing straight into the open arms of Etixx.
He began the 2016 season with a bang, winning four stages and the Dubai Tour overall in his first 10 days of racing, but went off the rails at a cold, wet, and difficult Paris-Nice. Kittel bounced back with a stage win at Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde and also claimed victory at Scheldeprijs, less than a week later. His ultimate goal is to regain the top spot as the fastest sprinter of them all, and he’s confident he’ll be king of the finishing kick at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France.
VeloNews caught up with the German this spring to chat about his dismal 2015 campaign, his confidence, and why he admires Tom Boonen.
VeloNews: Last year was very difficult for you. What happened?
Marcel Kittel: The main reason was that I was sick for a very long time. Everything developed from that point onwards. I couldn’t train like I normally do, and then I couldn’t race much because I didn’t have the correct preparation. I missed that base that you get from racing a grand tour, and everything went backwards. I started to feel better at the Tour of Poland, but by then it was too late.
VN: After only one win in 2015, how important was it to get back to your winning ways early this season?
MK: After a hard season last year, I was incredibly happy to win again. There was pressure, but there is always pressure when you are a sprinter, so it was important to win as soon as possible. Victories always give you confidence. And more important was how the team is working. They gave me great lead-outs in Dubai and at Volta ao Algarve. There are always doubts after not being on the bike for so long. …
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