A month after quitting Katusha-Alpecin, Marcel Kittel has provided an update on how he is doing.
Having announced that he was to take a break from racing in May, Kittel posted a video on his Instagram story, saying he thought it was time to give fans an update as to how he is getting on.
Kittel said: "So, I've been offline for a while, I had some obvious reasons, just took some time for myself but it's time to give an update again I think.
"I'm fine, I'm doing well."
The 30-year-old filmed the video from a forest in his home German state of Thuringia, saying: "Today I'm on a mountain bike at home in Germany in Thuringia, and there is the famous Rennsteig [trail] it's usually used for hiking but also for mountain biking.
He then says that he's there taking a trip with friends: "I'm going to do that [trail] in two days with some friends, 170km."
In the video, Kittel goes on to give some background information about his home state, as well as posting selfies, footage of his unshaven legs, as well as documenting his choice of cake at a café stop.
On May 9, the German announced he would be leaving his Katusha-Alpecin team, after struggling to find form in 2019, which culminated in a public falling out with the Swiss outfit.
Kittel had been due to ride the Tour de Yorkshire but pulled out at the last minute and was not included in the team’s line-up for the upcoming Tour of California.
He said in a statement at the time: "On my request, Katusha-Alpecin and I have mutually decided to an early termination of my current contract.
"In the last two months I have had the feeling of being exhausted.
"At this moment, I am not able to train and race at the highest level. For this reason, I have decided to take a break and take time for myself, think about my goals and make a plan for my future."
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