Marcel Kittel (Katusha-Alpecin) has already bagged what was his first race victory for 11 months at the Trofeo Palma earlier this month, and came very close to taking a second win at the Clasica de Almeria on Sunday, where he was just beaten by Bora-Hansgrohe`s Pascal Ackermann. Kittel ended his 2018 season after the opening stage of the Deutschland Tour in August, having suffered a season in which he felt fatigued and unable to perform at his best. While he`d taken two stage wins at Tirreno-Adriatico last March, the 30-year-old failed to fire for the rest of the season.ADVERTISEMENT It was in stark contrast to his 2017 season, when he`d taken 14 wins, including five stage victories at the Tour de France. But while tests revealed no medical reasons for his fatigue, Kittel`s Katusha-Alpecin team allowed him to finish his 2018 season early in order to rest and recuperate. Now, he appears to be returning to something close to his best, with Katusha-Alpecin having enlisted former pro sprinter Erik Zabel as their performance director for 2019. `I`ve been working closely with Marcel for three months now and I`ve liked everything I`ve seen so far,` Zabel said after Kittel`s win at the Trofeo Palma. `Since December 1, we`ve been training and focused on this new season, not looking back, and today was a nice moment to see the results of everyone`s efforts.`
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