13 victories, including four stage wins in the Tour de France and two in the Giro d'Italia: Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) has also in 2014 proved that he has no reason to fear anybody in the bunch sprints and that he is probably the fastest rider in the world. Hence, the German told radsport-news.com: "Overall, I am again very satisfied with the year."

Kittel's performance in the Tour de France was again outstanding as he repeated his performance from 2013, winning four stages and wearing the yellow jersey for a day. "The fact that I was able to confirm the results of the previous year, made me very happy," said Kittel who was virtually unbeatable at the start of the race, winning three of the first four stages.

In addition to this, he won the big finale on the Champs Elysées in Paris triumph just as he did in 2013. However, Kittel describes his victory on the opening day in the British city of Harrogate as his best victory of the year. "The pressure was significantly greater than in 2013 and everybody looked at me. Therefore my emotions after the victory were much greater," said the 26-year-old whose many trips across the Channel were always worth the effort.

Two months before the Grand Départ of the Tour de France, he had won two stages at the start of the Giro d'Italia in Ireland and Northern Ireland. And in September, Kittel was also successful twice in the Tour of Britain (2.HC).

Hence, Kittel didn't have much reason to focus on the disappointments. "It annoyed me that I had to leave the Giro early due to illness," said the Giant captain who could not start the fourth stage due to a cold and fever.

As a result, Kittel had a five-week break from racing before he was back in action in the Ster ZLM Toer where he won a stage in the build-up to the Tour. However, Kittel admitted that the long break had had an effect on him. "I had the impression that the shape was a bit better at the 2013 Tour," he said.

While Kittel excelled in the stage races with no less than 12 stage victories - including three in the Dubai Tour - he was less impressive in the few one-day races that he did. Although he won the Scheldeprijs for the third time in a row, he was unable to achieve any other podium results and so his sixth place at the Vattenfall Cyclassics was his second best result in a one-day race. "In Hamburg it could have been better," Kittel added.

In 2015, he wants to confirm his reputation as the fastest man in the peloton. "I have a talent for the bunch sprints and I want to work on that to still be successful," he annouced.

However, Kittel made no secret of the fact that he would like to participate in the great one-day races - as a domestique. "I would also like to learn how to support John Degenkolb in the classics like Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix and develop myself as a rider," he said.