Marcel Kittel has spoken of how welcome he was made to feel at Etixx-QuickStep and how quickly he has found himself adjusting to the mindset of the Belgian team.

“[Settling in] was all very, very easy and I feel really, really well and comfortable in the team, Kittel told Cycling Weekly. “They welcomed me in a really, really nice way, everyone is really supportive and trying to do his best, not only for me but for everyone. I like that atmosphere.”

After an illness ruined all of his season, allowing him to win only the People’s Choice Classic in Australia and stage one of the Tour de Pologne, the German has hit the reset button and even thinks his 2015 may be useful for him.

“It was like going from 100 to almost zero within a few months actually, but I don’t want to cry about because it’s an experience and, after all is maybe not so bad,” he said. “I don’t want to do it again, to be honest, but you also keep developing as a person, as a professional and you make experience, experiences that you would not have made if you had not been in this situation.”