OFFICIAL: Marcel Kittel signs with Unibet Rose Rockets, as a sprint coach

Unibet Rose Rockets continue to make their big push towards the 2026 Tour de France wildcard. Its signed Tour de France stage winners in Dylan Groenewegen, Victor Lafay and Wout Poels; Its gotten a French nationality; and its increased its level significantly in riders and also staff. The team has now announced the signing of Marcel Kittel, 14-time winner at the Tour, as its new sprint coach.

The move on Kittel has built over several years now through the connection between Kittel and Tietema. Since his retirement in 2019 the German rider has remained active in the cycling world and has been an analyst for several channels and has been in the coverage of top races. The sprinting legend has never truly abandoned the sport and now comes back in a role that is becoming more and more popular. Earlier this week Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale announced the signing of Mark Renshaw as their sprint coach (after his stint with Mark Cavendish's Astana) and now Marcel Kittel does the same for Unibet Tietema Rockets.

But for the French team it is also a way to get a reputational boost and attach another big name to the team. However, it is a viable position taking into consideration the signing of Dylan Groenewegen, the team's big bet into 2026. Kittel has taken 89 pro wins throughout his career, and had a total of 14 stage wins packed in a mere four editions. In 2017, his last with Soudal - Quick-Step, he won five sprint stages.

He's also taken four sprint stages at the Giro d'Italia and won Scheldeprijs an impressive amount of five times. From 2007 to 2010 he raced in the German continental scene before he signed with Giant - Alpecin in 2011, which evolved into a World Tour team in 2013. In there and Quick-Step, he was for many years the top sprinter in the peloton and a good example of the 'pure sprinter' that is now less and less common in the modern peloton. His final season and a half with Katusha Alpecin did not hail great results and he announced his retirement in May 2019 at age 30.