Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin) has always been successful. But last season, the German's success came to an abrupt halt due to a persistent viral illness.

"For me, 2015 was a year full of setbacks. I can not be satisfied with a season that was marked by illness and several new starts," Kittel told radsport-news.com.

With a win at the criterium before the Tour Down Under in Australia, Kittel got the season off to the perfect start but from there, the results never came. This was due to a viral illness which hampered him from the Tour of Qatar until the end of April.

Kittel made his comeback in the Tour de Yorkshire but he already had to abandon during the challenging first stage. After another three weeks off, the Giant-Alpecin captain was back at the World Ports Classic. In mid-June, he showed signs of improvement with a sixth place in the Rund um Köln.

However, the team management decided that the condition was not good enough for Kittel to do the Tour de France where he had won a total of eight stages in the past two years, and so he had to watch the biggest cycling race in the world as a spectator. He was convinced that he would have been able to challenge his rivals in the season highlighted. Kittel spoke deeply disappointed about his non-selection and made no secret of his lack of understanding for the decision of the team management.

In August he briefly returned to his winning ways at the Tour de Pologne when he won the first stage in Warsaw. With a second place in another stage, he also won the points jersey. However, those who thought that this was the sign of more to come, were left disappointed. There were more setbacks, many withdrawals and poor results so that Kittel ended the season with just one UCI win.

"Nevertheless, I try to look at the positive things. In my worst season and a ywar with lots of negative experiences, I even won a WorldTour race," said Kittel who agreed with his employer to dissolve the contract and then signed with Etixx-QuickStep.

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"Under normal conditions 2016 can only get better. In the winter I will do my training and preparation in peace and without much stress. Furthermore, 'train, eat and sleep well' will again be my priority. This is a lesson of recent years because too many other things have taken more time and space. That's how I explain the illness in the spring," Kittel said.

Now he looks forward. Together with his new team, he plans for the future. "I can fully rely on the support of the team. The challenge will also be to find the right sprint train for me. And I find that very exciting "said Kittel who is confident that he will again be able to win races.

"The confidence is definitely there. If the preparations go as planned without any illness, there is no reason for me to doubt the team or myself. But I will not make comparisons or put myself under any pressure," he announced.