2013 was the year when Marcel Kittel took over the sprinting crown from Mark Cavendish after winning four stages at the Tour de France and beating the Manxman in several head-to-head battles. However, the German keeps his feet firmly only the ground and doesn't expect to repeat last year's feat.

In his first two seasons as a professional, Marcel Kittel had repeatedly shown that he was one of the fastest - if not the fastest - sprinters in the world, having beaten the likes of Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel on a few occasions. Despite having a Vuelta win on his palmares, he still hadn't cemented his status as he had failed to show his power on the biggest scene of the them all: the Tour de France.

Kittel had a bad experience when he first lined up at the world's biggest bike race in 2012. Before having even contested a single sprint, he had to leave the race with stomach problems and he could only watch from afar while Cavendish and Greipel each collected three stage wins.

In 2013 Kittel finally got the chance to show that he is fully capable of sprinting against the sprinting giants. His first stage win on Corsica may have been made easier by the messy circumstances that took both Greipel and Cavendish out of contention but when he added another three stages during the three-week race - including the prestigious one on the Champs-Elysees - no one was left wondering who was the fastest rider in the race.

However, Kittel refuses to put any pressure on his own shoulders or set any lofty goals. Again making the Tour de France his major highlight, he just hopes to have "a good season."

“It’s the same like in 2013," he told Velonews. "I’ll just try to have a good year again. It sounds simple. I just want to have a good start in the new season, and I’m looking forward to the Tour as a highlight again. Which races I will do on my way to the Tour is not sure yet. We of course talked already about it, but I think I can say I’m open to new experiences also when it comes to other races.

“I think it was a very special year and to expect directly that you can repeat it like that the next year, I think that’s a bit over the top. And it also gives you pressure, which is not necessary. My personal goal for next year is just to go again for a stage win at the Tour de France, and to finish the Tour.”

Kittel confirms that he plans to return to the Middle East where he has won stages in the Tour of Oman in both 2012 and 2013. This time he also plans to ride the more sprinter-friendly Tour of Qatar which has so far been the domain of his teammate John Degenkolb.

In 2013 Kittel took over the sprinting crown from Cavendish but the German expects his rival to come back even stronger in 2014.

“He will be busy during the winter to prepare for the new season and maybe to change something. If he just looks to the new teammates that he gets — Mark Renshaw. That’s a good step,” he said. “They showed already once that they are a good team, and we, other sprinter teams, definitely have to take care for that new, new/old combination next season. I’m curious what will happen next year.”

Kittel won 16 races in 2013 and was 3rd on the list of riders with most victories.