Marcel Kittel believes Danny van Poppel is the best leadout rider in the current peloton: "He is a young Michael Mørkøv"

Because of his 19 Grand Tour wins - and many others outside of it, Marcel Kittel became sprinter royalty over the 2010's and remains one of the most important voices in the field. Having taken a look at the current peloton, he believes Danny van Poppel is the best leadout man around.

The German sprinter still has a lot of hope that his former team, the currently named Team DSM - Firmenich PostNL, rises up once again as a sprinter superpower. “I hope that this time with a different approach they can create something that can revive the history of the team. They will undoubtedly have that different approach, with Roy Curvers who has a lot of influence on the team and with Fabio who will also really influence the sprint project," Kittel shared with Wielerflits.

“They look at riders in a way where they give them a vision, structure and a plan. But in top sport you also need someone who can ultimately carry it out and who can influence people. Fabio Jakobsen must therefore also be a figurehead of that vision for the sprint team." After the departure of Sam Welsford, Alberto Dainese and Marius Mayrhofer, the team now focuses on support for Jakobsen and new strong sprinter in the scene Casper van Uden.

He provides insight into the team, when comparing to the world's current best sprinters. “Then you also need people like Roy or John Degenkolb, who have a lot of experience from our period. With all that put together, I think there's a good opportunity to create something beautiful," he argues. Jakobsen aims to win once again at the Tour de France, but will also race the Giro d'Italia in search of triumphs.

"You also have to remain honest and look at other sprinters. Jasper Philipsen will be super strong, Sam Welsford already showed great things in Australia." Welsford's leadout man Danny van Poppel was very much complemented by Kittel, after the work he's done with Sam Bennett and now the Australian sprinter: “I think Sam benefits a lot from Danny van Poppel. He is a young Michael Mørkøv, he receives that compliment often and rightly so."

"A good leadout also makes a good sprinter and that is something they also have to build up at DSM. Along with Mathieu van der Poel, if we look at last year's Tour, Danny van Poppel is the best lead-out. Especially if you look at the pure sprinters, a leadout from Danny is actually what you need.”