Cycling: Now it's out! Marcel Kittel has ended his career. The reason: lack of motivation.
Kittel: "I've lost all motivation"
There has long been speculation about Marcel Kittel's future. Recently there have been rumors that he could possibly join the Dutch team Jumbo - Visma. But now the German has spoken out and officially announced the end of his career. In his statement it is clear that he has lost the motivation for the torture in this tough sport. After his 14th stage victory in the Tour de France 2017 in the jersey of the Belgian team Quick-Step, Marcel Kittel switched to Katusha - Alpecin. However, he was never happy there and his achievements fell sharply. In May of this year he canceled his contract with the Swiss racing team.
The statements of Marcel Kittel in the wording
In his statement, Marcel Kittel gave the reasons for his decision. He also discussed his future with the Thuringia media group.
"The big question for me over the past few months has been: Can and do I still want to sacrifice myself for the sport as is necessary for a world-class level? And my answer today is: No, I don't want to do that anymore, because I increasingly felt the restrictions as a top athlete as a loss of quality of life.
Pain defines the sport, the world you live in. I've lost all motivation to continue torturing myself on the bike. I gave the decision a lot of thought and discussed it with my closest friends and family. This decision-making process is not one that only takes place within a few months, but over a longer period of time: During my sporting career over almost 20 years, there have been incredible successes but also difficult phases. I've always been someone who openly questions and reflects on what happened in these situations in order to learn from it and get better. That, together with the people around me, made me the successful athlete I am now, but this thinking also helped me to leave old paths and learn new things. I know that there is more than just sport, for example my own future family.
Over the last few years, the thought of this future without a bike has grown in my mind and, at the same time, my awareness of the hardships that such an incredibly beautiful, but also very hard sport like cycling entails.”
Kittel is the German record holder at the Tour de France
Born in Arnstadt, Marcel Kittel can look back on many successful years as a professional cyclist. In 2007 he began his career in the Thüringer Energie team. After moving to Skil - Shimano and Team Argos - Shimano, he rose to become a world-class sprinter. In 2016, Quick-Step secured the services of the blond boy. Marcel Kittel won a total of 14 stages in the Tour de France, making him the sole German record holder and overtaking Erik Zabel, among others. He was particularly successful in 2017 when he won five stages in the Tour of France. After that, however, it went downhill. The move to Katusha – Alpecin was not followed by good results. In addition to his successes in the Tour de France, he also won four stages in the Giro d'Italia, one in the Vuelta a Espana and the Scheldt Prize five times. At the age of 31, Marcel Kittel ends an extremely successful career.