Quick-Step Floors team manager Patrick Lefevere believes that with the full backing of his Belgian outfit new signing Elia Viviani can trump outgoing sprinter Marcel Kittel in the victory stakes next year. Kittel is set to join Katusha-Alpecin next season after two years with Lefevere's team with Viviani coming in to replace the German in their line-up.
Kittel finished jointly top in the victory rankings with teammate Fernando Gaviria and Jakub Mareczko in 2017, with Viviani ending the year in 10th place.
"If my memory is okay, Kittel won 14 races and Viviani nine. So, when he joins our team then maybe it will be the opposite," Lefevere told Cyclingnews at last week's Rouleur Classic. "I don't say that he didn't have the help of his teammates at Sky, it would not be correct to say this, but it is different. If we are focused on him, I hope that we can kick his ass."
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With other big name riders moving to rival teams in 2018, Lefevere had hoped to keep Kittel on board. Explaining to German sponsor Lidl why Kittel would not be with the team next year was a difficult, but the 29-year-old did not want to compete with Fernando Gaviria. Both wanted to be designated sprinter at the 2018 Tour de France.
"If I'm honest, I wanted to keep him. You have to understand that Lidl is one of the biggest companies in the world and they're German. He's German and a very good looking guy, he speaks very well. That was very important," explained Lefevere.
"My contract wasn't signed with Lidl and he said that he would leave the team. That was a very tough moment for me, to explain to those people who aren't specialist in cycling that their star rider leaves the team. He said that he didn't want to compete with Gaviria. I don't understand, but it is his choice."
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