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Marcel Kittel hopes to find his best form as he aims to defend his Dubai Tour title. The German race cyclist was in outstanding form last year winning the title for his team Quick-Step Floors.
As the fourth edition of the Dubai Tour gets underway on Tuesday, Kittel - the 14-time Grand Tour stage winner - is brimming with confidence.
"Dubai has always been a good place for me to race, especially last year with my new team. It was great to win the GC, so it's special to come back," the affable German told reports at a pre-event Press conference on Monday.
"I can only say I've had a good time training and the moment has come to find out if I'm in the right shape for winning again."
Kittel could face the toughest challenge from Mark Cavendish, the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medallist.
The former world championship gold medallist obviously has fond memories of Dubai, having won the title here in 2015. The Briton had spent a week in Abu Dhabi, practising for the tough challenge in Dubai. "I've been here since last week and I'm really happy to be back. I finished last season in November, so I'll have to see where my form is at. We're here with a strong Dimension Data team for the sprints and I'm here to do my best," the soft-spoken Cavendish said on Monday.
Cavendish says the event in Dubai is getting bigger with each passing year.
"The sport in general is picking up here and in Abu Dhabi. The number of cyclists is phenomenal. Every year, there are more spectators - it's great to be part of this!"
The first of the four stages of this year's event will start at 11:10am from Dubai International Marine Club. The 181-km first stage will end at Palm Jumeirah.
The top contenders will relish the beautiful weather conditions in Dubai as they hit the roads on Tuesday. Team Sky's Elia Viviani of Italy is itching to test himself in Dubai.
"I've had a really good winter. I tested my condition last week in Argentina and I'm really happy with it but I have already got three second places so I hope for the first win to come this week," said the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medallist.
"With one more day of racing, I have one more chance. The weather will help for a great week of work. At Team Sky, we're focused on sprinting, and we also have Gianni Moscon for GC in the hardest stage. We're ready!"
John Degenkolb, the 28-year-old German cyclist who won the silver medal at the 2015 Dubai event, is glad to be competing at a premier event after suffering an unfortunate training accident.
"I'm super happy to be back after missing out last year due to the training accident with the team. I had a great start to 2015 here, which became the most successful season in my career so far," said Trek Segafredo star.
"Now I'm looking forward to racing again. I want to start well with new team, I want to get to know my team-mates better. Then Hatta Dam is something special - I won up there two years ago!"
rituraj@khaleejtimes.com
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