Taking two stage wins and the overall classification, German sprinting ace Marcel Kittel showed he was back at his winning best at the Dubai Tour. Following his successes in the desert, though, he confirmed that he has no plans to participate in the Milan-Sanremo Classic this season.

Kittel laid the foundation for his overall win through his big effort on the 17 per cent ramp to the edge of Hatta Dam. That performance ensured he stayed within reach of Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) before the final stage and his winning sprint.

In doing so, Kittel copied former teammate John Degenkolb on the precipitous ascent to finish on the wheels of the Italian, Fabian Cancellara and Philippe Gilbert. Degenkolb proceeded to win Milan-Sanremo in 2015 but Kittel quickly put paid to any notion that he would attempt to emulate his compatriot’s success in La Classicissima.

"The Poggio is longer than the 200 metre climb to Hatta Dama," Kittel said about his decision to skip Milan-Sanremo. “I don't honestly think it suits me, at least with the changes they made to the route. It's too tough for the sprinters now. I think the last time a really pure sprinter won it was Cavendish back in 2009. Every year there's bad weather or something. It's getting harder and harder and it's the same in general, other races are getting harder too," Kittel elaborated according to Cyclingnews.com.

Although Kittel does not think he is ready for the Italian spring Classic just yet, he did not rule out future attempts at the prestigious race.

"There is also a moment where I have to set my priorities and that's my decision for this year and for now," he explained logically. "I'm not saying I'll never ride Milan-San Remo but for me, it's not a hard choice to make. I think I have better opportunities elsewhere. It's a goal to start it at least once in my career, I wouldn't want to finish my career without riding it," he said. "But I want be competitive if I ride and it's difficult with the current profile."

Giro d'Italia on race itinerary

Like many other teams and illustrious riders, Kittel and Etixx-Quickstep remain wary about making public details of the German's race calendar.

"I'll ride the Volta ao Algarve later this month and then Paris-Nice. After that I'm not really sure," he said, dodging questions about Gent-Wevelgem and Scheldeprijs.

Kittel did confirm that he will ride the Giro d'Italia in May. In the 2014 Giro d'Italia Kittel won the stages to Belfast and Dublin but was subsequently hit by illness during the trip to Italy and he failed to make it to the starting line on stage four to Bari. This year, it appears likely that Kittel will try to amass stage victories during the first two weeks of the Italian Grand Tour before exiting the race and start focusing on the Tour de France.