Marcel Kittel not concerned ahead of Abu Dhabi Tour after slow start to life with Katusha-Alpecin

Matt Jones - Editor 20:16 20/02/2018
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  • Marcel Kittel won in Dubai in both 2016 and 2017.

    After his Dubai Tour three-peat attempt eluded him at the start of the month, Marcel Kittel is hoping for better a little further down Sheikh Zayed Road at the Abu Dhabi Tour this weekend.

    The giant German has dominated in Dubai in recent years, riding to success there in 2016 and 2017 and winning a miraculous eight stages of 21 total since the race was first held in 2014.

    In reality he’s won eight of 17 stages as he didn’t compete in a forgettable 2015 campaign. Both of his wins came with Quick-Step Floors, who were toasting another victory in the desert 11 days ago when Elia Viviani claimed the title – Quick-Step’s fourth straight title in Dubai after Mark Cavendish also rode to victory wearing the famous blue and white in 2015.

    Kittel – now with Katusha-Alpecin – also has fond memories of the UAE capital having won Stage 2 here a year ago. And he is hoping for better on his second showing in the Emirates this weekend.

    “I have good memories of Abu Dhabi and I’m very motivated,” said the Arnstadt native.

    “I feel the team had a good start in Dubai but we are hungry for more and want to do better. That is the ambition this week. We are not only focused on winning the sprints as we have Ilnur Zakarin in the General Classification and I think it will be an interesting race for us.”

    Despite an overall GC finish of 17th in Dubai less than two weeks ago – his worst following his two victories and a sixth-place finish in 2014 – Kittel is not concerned by his slow start to the 2018 campaign.

    “The overall feeling from Dubai was we showed really good team spirit,” he added.

    “We know where our mistakes were, what we need to do better and what we need to work on better here and in the next weeks. In a way it was a good race for us. We were there but couldn’t get the victory. We’re in Abu Dhabi now and can do better.

    “We finished the race with a meeting to talk about the week, that’s always important. And I think that’s good. You talk about what was good and what was bad and move on to the next race. Be confident and that’s the key so we took a lot of confidence out of Dubai.”

    Asked if he has worked anything specific since Dubai, the man who has 19 Grand Tour stage wins – including 14 at the Tour de France – touched on the fact that he and his new team-mates are still getting to know one another.

    “I think the most important point was to get a structure into our sprint and how we work together.

    “We need to be more aware of what our plan is. It’s also something that takes time so we are not in a rush to push anything.”

    And with Kittel keen to add more stage victories to his resume in the UAE capital and Russian rider Zakarin targeting the GC title, the German thinks the duo’s partnership can become profitable.

    “I think so,” he said, responding to a question about aiming for the Tour de France later in the year.

    “We are not really in sync yet. We don’t have a lot to do together in the race. We support each other of course and the team so it’s important to keep the team spirit.”

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