Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) was easily the fastest sprinter in this year’s Tour de France which saw the German rider claim the first yellow jersey of the centenary edition of La Grande Boucle and win the final stage in Paris in one of the most memorable showdowns between three sprinters (Kittel, Greipel and Cavendish) in recent memory.

Kittel was among the riders present at the recent announcement of the 2014 Tour de France route in Paris and Cyclingquotes got the chance to talk to the German sprinter on a number of subjects.

Having dealt with all the media attention and the pressure during the Tour last July, Kittel said he found his post-Tour commitments were no less demanding.

"In a way I found myself entangled in as many commitments after the Tour as I did during the three week race itself,” Kittel said. “Obviously there's interest from the media but friends and relatives were just as anxious for me to recount my experiences at the Tour. Of course it’s nice that they show an interest, but it does accumulate into quite a stressful factor."

During the 2013 season Argos-Shimano repeatedly proved to be the strongest sprinter’s team with the most consistent and well-organized lead-out train and if the team is able to reproduce its commanding performances next year, Kittel will surely fancy his chances to duplicate his Corsica opener success from this year as the Leeds Grand Depart next year looks perfectly suited to the fast men. No doubt the opening stage has been tailor-made in order to offer Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) the best possible chances of taking the yellow jersey, but Kittel will be looking to throw a spanner in the works of the organizers and Cavendish. Argos-Shimano is mostly known as a team of sprinters with Kittel and John Degenkolb being the major stars and Kittel was enthusiastic about his chances in the opening week of the 2014 Tour.

"The opening stage presents another opportunity to get the yellow jersey which is really nice and a huge motivation," Kittel said. "It is an interesting first week, a good one for the sprinters. The fifth stage will also prove very interesting, with the cobbles bringing a nice change to the normality of a Grand Tour. It will be both nervous and exciting."

“Hopefully we can make a nice start to the Tour again like this year," Kittel added. "Thinking about it now, I am already motivated and excited for the first stage. However, looking at the second half of the race, that is where the real challenge of surviving lies."

Succession of power among sprinters

During the past few years, Cavendish has widely been recognized as the fastest sprinter in the world, but Kittel’s repeated wins in this year’s version of the Tour has undermined that perception considerably. In fact, the sprint competition at the 100th edition was anything but a foregone conclusion and Rod Ellingworth, Cavendish's former coach, has been the latest to insinuate a change at the top of the sprinters’ hierarchy, telling an audience at the recent London Sports Writers Festival that his past rider could no longer be considered "the fastest at the moment".

Kittel was reluctant to talk about a succession of power in the kingdom of sprinters, preferring instead to look ahead to next year’s start on English soil. Kittel also defined his biggest advantage this season as a blend of his own resourcefulness and the power of his vigorous Dutch team that was granted a WorldTour license at the end of last year.

“I think it’s fair to say that I had the luxury of having the best lead-out train working for me in this year’s Tour de France,” Kittel said modestly. “If we are able to reproduce similar efforts at next year’s Tour, I think I can realistically hope to gain the yellow leader’s jersey once again.”

"It's really important to have a lead-out train and to have a team that helps you," Kittel added. "If it's a hectic final - like the last 300, 400, 500m - you might be able to claim a win as a result of your own merit if you’re very strong. I showed that not only at the Tour but at other races as well that I can, if it's necessary, go alone but it’s an exception rather than a rule. I definitely benefitted from some outstanding team work this year."

In subsequent parts of  the interview, Kittel talks about his plans for the 2014 season and repeats his outspoken zero tolerance views on doping offenders.