Marcel Kittel on Lotto Soudal's Tour de France selection: "it's a risk to take a whole new train to the Tour"

Caleb Ewan will be headlining Lotto Soudal's Tour de France lineup, however he will not have the company of any of his traditional leadout men - Jasper de Buyst, Roger Kluge and Michael Schwarzmann. Marcel Kittel has talked about the risks and possible consequences of this for the Australian sprinter.

"I definitely think it's a risk to take a whole new train to the Tour. A sprinter likes a fixed pattern. And certainly in the Tour you have to be able to rely on your teammates," Kittel told Sporza. Whilst Lotto Soudal will be hunting stages, they have taken a lineup very focused on breakaways, and Ewan's main leadout man will be Reinardt Janse van Rensburg who has just recently been signed into the team.

Despite having Ewan, the Lotto Soudal leadout has failed to match that of other teams in recent times, having the firepower to keep the Australian near the front but never ahead of the competition - which contributes to his inconsistency in results. Although a risky move, the team has decided to focus on a leadout with more rouleurs such as Florian Vermeersch and Brent van Moer, and Rensburg to do the final positioning work.

"You can practice the sprint train on training, but you cannot simulate the hectic pace and everything that comes with a race. You have to test that in competitions. In the first stages it may be a bit of a search for Ewan," Kittel stresses however. "Winning fast is always important, but in this Tour more than ever. There aren't that many chances. In the first week there are two chances, but after that it's just a matter of waiting until stage 19."

"It will be difficult, but of course it is not impossible. Ewan is good at positioning, but in the Tour you always need a little help in the super fast finals. Maybe he should just use his own teammates to start the last two kilometers in a good position and then do his own thing," the former German sprinter said.

He's also mentioned compatriot Roger Kluge who has for the last few year's been Ewan's main supporting figure, however it will not be the case at the Tour. "I'm sorry for Roger. Maybe it's a factor that his contract hasn't been extended yet. In any case, it is a sign that Lotto wants to change, also in the sprint train."

"If a team is not running and is in a situation like Lotto's, there is a lot of pressure and uncertainty. At a time when you actually have to stay very cool, you are not. That is the case with the framework, but also with the riders," he concluded.