Those who are not in shape can't ride the Tour de France. That is the painful reason for Giant Alpecin to leave Marcel Kittel at home during the most important cycling event of the year.
That decision was not easy for the team. Kittel is one of the team leaders, especially for La Grande Boucle where the Germanhas taken a total of eight stage victories in just two years.
"If you have a rider like Kittel in the ranks, you want to win as much as possible," team manager Rudi Kemna told NOS
"Based on his recent races and training sessions, it is not realistic to think that he can bring what we expect from him," said Kemna.
Kittel himself is hugely disappointed to miss out on the Tour. He regards the lack of confidence from his team as a new setback after his virus.
The gap Kittel leaves at Giant-Alpecin will be filled by Ramon Sinkeldam who is also a sprinter but of a different caliber.
"Marcel has his qualities and cannot be replaced," Kemna explained. "But we have other qualities that we can bring to the fore. Tom Dumoulin for example or the talented French climber Warren Barguil. And John Degenkolb of course."
With Dumoulinm, Kemna hopes for success in the individual time trial in Utrecht. But he does not expect miracles from the Dutchman in the GC.
"We do not expect him to go for GC in this tough Tour against the best of the world. But in the future I won't rule it out," said Kemna. "Dumoulin grows, he's very focused and a great sportsman."
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