Marcel Kittel is riding in his first year as a professional with the Skil Shimano team. The German had a perfect start to his season, winning stage three of the Tour de Langkawi. With his favorite classics races coming up, he is set for some more good results. Only the recent Critérium International was a bit of a letdown for the 22-year-old talent, where he had to abandon the hilly stage one.
At stage two of the Critérium, Kittel stood atop his bike and amongst the spectators, some 50 meters behind the finish line. He came to watch the bunch sprint finish, where he would have loved to do his share of the work for the team. As it turned out, that wasn't necessary. His teammate Simon Geschke won the race, which put a big smile on Kittel's face. He quickly rolled off to the Skil Shimano bus, where everybody celebrated the win over the big teams.
There was no jealousy when Kittel spoke to VeloNation. "I am really happy for Simon. It is a big race and a really big success for him." Even five-time Critérium International Jens Voigt stopped by to congratulate the team and Geschke.
This was the good news for Kittel a day after he had one of his worst days so far this year. The undulating terrain was not for him. "I am sad that I am not in the race anymore, but that's how it goes." The pace was high from the start and Kittel hung on for as long as he could. "I was by myself after 100km. I tried to get to the finish alone, but by kilometer 180 [just before the start of the final climb -ed] I was so far behind the first guys that it made no sense to continue."
Kittel was not the only one who didn't finish the stage. Others, like his teammate Thomas Bonnin, Sky's Ben Swift and Russel Downing, or AG2R's Hubert Dupont, did finish outside the time limit. The list of those hors délais was long and even included last year's Tour de France mountain classifications winner Anthony Charteau (Europcar).
This is where Kittel found some consolation. "It was a real mountain stage. I am not the rider for such races. I know that, so I can judge it well. I am not super disappointed, as I tried to give it my best." Everyone on the team was aware that it was going to be difficult. "We speculated to get me to through to today [stages two and three - ed], but it didn't work out."
Kittel would have enjoyed the time trial. The 2009 U23 time trial European Champion is very good in the race against the clock. In his four years with the Continental Thüringer Energie Team, he had several good results in that discipline. Even the stage two sprint could have suited him, as he finished sixth in the Trofeo Cala Millor and third in the Trofeo Palma de Mallorca, both races won by Tyler Farrar.
Pretty island, but not for cycling
He thinks that training-wise, the hard miles alone on a route that constantly went up and down, will be beneficial. "With the tough race I hope that I have gotten good legs." Legs that he wants to put to good use in the classics. "The more important and better races for me are coming up, like the Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix. I want to do well there."
He finished a solid 36th in today's Scheldeprijs, that was marked by a nasty crash at the finish. On Sunday, Paris-Roubaix is coming up, before his next part of the racing season is being discussed within the team.
Since the Critérium on Corsica, Kittel has mostly trained at home. He lives in Erfurt, where he has perfect training conditions for the classic races. "There is a little bit of everything. For longer climbs, I can go to the Thueringer Wald."
He knew Corsica only from some beach vacations in the past. "It is a beautiful island, just not for cycling," he said with a smile.