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Over both the 2013 and ’14 seasons, Marcel Kittel dominated flat sprint finishes. This year has been a different story, as the German has suffered from illness and only ridden 29 race days.
Having not been picked to ride the Tour de France, he was given an opportunity to impress at the Tour of Poland, where he finally returned to form, with a win on the opening stage, and a podium on Stage 2 to take out the points jersey.
This return to form would have signalled to many that Kittel would ride the Vuelta a Espana starting in a couple of weeks, but sadly not.
However his Giant-Alpecin team have many good reasons, so do not jump to conclusions.
Even though Kittel got through the difficult week-long stage race in Poland, it was his first race in over two months. With the Vuelta being three weeks long, over possibly the most gruelling terrain of the three Grand Tours, making the finish would have been highly unlikely.
This is partly the reason why he was also not selected for the Tour de France. If you cannot make an effort of 100 per cent over the duration of the race, is it fair to take the spot over somebody who can sustain consistent effort day in, day out?
Another reason Kittel has not been selected is the parcours. As mentioned above, the Vuelta is the most demanding of the three Grand Tours, with the constant summit or hill-top finishes. Riders like Michael Matthews have prospered as sprinters in the past, while Kittel’s German teammate John Degenkolb won the points jersey at last year’s race.
The reasons for leaving him out of the Vuelta are comparable with the words from inside Giant-Alpecin after leaving Kittel out of the Tour de France line-up.
“The team decided that Kittel’s basic fitness is still not sufficient to compete in the Tour de France,” Giant Alpecin stated in an interview with Cycling Tips.
“Therefore the team will be strengthened for stage success over a different type of parcours, the hard sprints. For now, an alternative racing program will be determined by the performance team and Kittel himself and new goals will be set for the autumn to structurally work towards them.”
This alternative race program leads into my third and final reason as to why Kittel will not take the start line.
If he cannot get through a Grand Tour, and seems to struggle over hilly parcours, his racing for the rest of the season should concentrate on flatter races.
In an interview with Cycling Tips, team spokesman Geert Broekhuizen said that his absence from the Vuelta was not unexpected.
However “he is working towards Vattenfalls next week. He is feeling strong and is looking forward to it.”
Vattenfall is a sprinters’ classic in Germany, with a profile that suits Kittel down to the ground. Last year he finished in the top 10.
He is also scheduled to ride GP-Plouay, a slightly more lumpy classic, while also racing in Belgium throughout September.
The sooner this season can be wrapped up for Kittel the better. He needs an earlier pre-season to hit the ground running with strong performances next season. Not racing at the Vuelta is a blessing for him.
Giant, as they have shown over the past few years, should not be affected, and Degenkolb should really dominate the sprints.
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