More success for German Skil-Shimano competitor
Continuing what has been a remarkable first season in the pro ranks, German rider Marcel Kittel grabbed his fourteenth win of 2012 in yesterday’s Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen in Belgium. The Skil Shimano rider has been in strong form all year, getting his first pro win in the Tour de Langkawi in January, clocking up four stage triumphs in the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque plus the ProRace Berlin in May, and then continuing to rack up the victories ever since.
His performances since then have included a stage win plus the overall in the Delta Tour Zeeland, four wins out of the seven stages in the Tour of Poland, plus a first Grand Tour bunch sprint triumph on stage seven of the Vuelta a España.
Yesterday’s success saw him beat Andre Griepel (Omega Pharma-Lotto), Michael van Staeyen (Topsport Vlaanderen Mercator), Robbie McEwen (RadioShack) and others to the line.
Kittel came through the same Thüringer Energie Team as Tony Martin and John Degenkolb, two riders who then turned pro with the HTC Highroad team. His own step up to the pro ranks came this year when he started with Skil Shimano, and with one month remaining he has already eclipsed the eleven win record set by Mark Cavendish in 2007.
Another young rider, Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini – Neri Sottoli), equalled Cavendish’ mark recently. Yesterday’s success sees Kittel move three races clear of that total, and confirms that the 23 year old should be one of the riders to watch at next Sunday’s Elite world road race championships in Copenhagen.
Longer term, the Tour de France surely beckons for Germany’s next big sprinting star, where he will aim to emulate compatriots such as Erik Zabel and Griepel and notch up stage wins there. If his debut season is anything to go by, he seems on course for a very big career.
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Marcel Kittel’s victories thus far in 2011:
16/09/2011, 1.1 [Bel] Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen – Koolskamp
26/08/2011, GT2s [Esp] Vuelta a España, Stage 7: Almaden – Talavera de la Reina
06/08/2011, 2.WTs [Pol] Tour de Pologne, Stage 7: Krakow – Krakow
02/08/2011, 2.WTs [Pol] Tour de Pologne, Stage 3: Bedzin – Katowice
01/08/2011, 2.WTs [Pol] Tour de Pologne, Stage 2: Czestochowa – Dabrowa Gornicza
31/07/2011, 2.WTs [Pol] Tour de Pologne, Stage 1: Pruszkow – Warszawa
12/06/2011, 2.1 [Ned] Delta Tour Zeeland
11/06/2011, 2.1s [Ned] Delta Tour Zeeland, Stage 1: Middelburg – Goes
22/05/2011, 1.1 [Ger] ProRace Berlin
08/05/2011, 2.HCs [Fra] 4 Jours de Dunkerque, Stage 5: Grande-Synthe – Dunkerque
06/05/2011, 2.HCs [Fra] 4 Jours de Dunkerque, Stage 3: Caudry – Le Cateau-Cambrésis
05/05/2011, 2.HCs [Fra] 4 Jours de Dunkerque, Stage 2: Douai – Iwuy
04/05/2011, 2.HCs [Fra] 4 Jours de Dunkerque, Stage 1: Dunkerque – Orchies
25/01/2011, 2.HCs [Mas] Tour de Langkawi, Stage 3: Taiping – Sitiawan