Marcel Kittel to ride the Friends Life Tour of Britain
German sprinter will likely encounter rival Mark Cavendish during his race debut.
Marcel Kittel will likely go head-to-head with rival Mark Cavendish at this year's Friends Life Tour of Britain, as organisers confirmed his participation today.
Kittel headlines a sprint-focused Giant-Shimano squad for his debut in the race, although Cavendish - who has won eight stages in the last three editions of the race - is believed to have the likes of Paris-Roubaix winner Niki Terpstra and Michal Kwiatkowski to call upon.
The race's curtain raiser in Liverpool on September 7, as well as the finale in London a week later, are where bunch sprints are most likely to happen. Kittel has already enjoyed success in Britain this year, winning in Harrogate and the capital during this year's Tour de France Grand Départ.
"The first goal here will be to target the flat stages for a sprint with Marcel," said DS Marc Reef. "The race presents plenty of different opportunities and it will be quite open for the riders to take their own chances.
"Teun [van Erp, Giant's Scientific Expert] has analysed the finishes on Google maps and using the GPX files from the race, and this helps us in making our plan for each stage.":
Tinkoff-Saxo will be lead in the race by Nicolas Roche. He will have former Tour of Britain stage winner and race leader Nikolai Trusov, Chris Juul-Jensen, Rory Sutherland, Manuele Boaro, and Danish youngster Rasmus Guldhammer for company.
A full startlist is expected to be announced tomorrow (Tuesday), with former winners Bradley Wiggins (Sky) and Lars Boom (Belkin) expected to appear on it.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Giant-Shimano Tour of Britain 2014 line-up: Marcel Kittel (Ger), Brian Bulgac (Ned), Tom Stamsnijder (Ned), Tom Veelers (Ned), Albert Timmer (Ned), Bert de Backer (Bel).
Mark Cavendish will ride in Tour of Britain
Omega Pharma-QuickStep sprinter Mark Cavendish confirmed for Britain's premier stage race, from September 7-14
Tour of Britain teams announced
Belkin, BMC, Garmin, Movistar, Omega Pharma, Giant, Sky and Tinkoff among 20 teams taking part in 2014 Tour of Britain
Bradley Wiggins set to defend Tour of Britain title
Defending champion Bradley Wiggins will head up Sky's team at the Tour of Britain in September rather than riding Vuelta
Tour of Britain television listing
Tour of Britain 7 - 14 September television listing
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Nick Bull is an NCTJ qualified journalist who has written for a range of titles, as well as being a freelance writer at Beat Media Group, which provides reports for the PA Media wire which is circulated to the likes of the BBC and Eurosport. His work at Cycling Weekly predominantly dealt with professional cycling, and he now holds a role as PR & Digital Manager at SweetSpot Group, which organises the Tour of Britain.
-
TV coverage of a bike race can leave you with a strange impression of a country
TV footage is deceptive so choose your illusion wisely
By Michael Hutchinson Published
-
Mathieu van der Poel dominates in Leuven to win Gravel World Championships
The Dutchman adds another World Championship title to his palmarès as he solos to victory in the Flemish Brabant
By Joseph Lycett Published
-
Marcel Kittel: ‘I believe in Mark Cavendish'
The 14 time Tour de France stage winner backs Manxman to grab record breaking 35th stage win in the coming days
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Marcel Kittel reveals the power numbers and effort behind his most successful Tour de France years
Marcel Kittel has revealed some of the staggering power numbers behind his most successful Tour de France years in a new study.
By Alex Ballinger Published
-
Marcel Kittel: I hope Tom Dumoulin finds the answers he needs
The German sprinter similarly took a break from cycling in May 2019, retiring a few months later
By Jonny Long Published
-
Marcel Kittel: ‘There’s no shame in change’
Sprinting icon Marcel Kittel reveals the reasons behind his retirement – and why cycling needs to open up about the extreme pressures endured by riders
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Marcel Kittel says he's not surprised Tom Dumoulin wanted to leave Sunweb
The German quit racing in 2019 while Dumoulin transferred to Jumbo-Visma after injury curtailed his season
By Jonny Long Published
-
'I don’t know how depressed people feel, but I think I went in that direction' says Marcel Kittel, who also reveals post-cycling plans
The German sprinter has opened up about what his future holds
By Jonny Long Published
-
Marcel Kittel announces retirement from cycling
The German said "[I] didn't want to watch my son grow up via Skype"
By Jonny Long Published
-