The 2015 Tour de France doesn't look like one for the sprinters who will mainly have to focus on the first week. The fastest of them Marcel Kittel admits that he will have to focus on the first part of the race.

The 2015 Tour de France route was unveiled in Paris on Wednesday 22nd October, and Marcel Kittel was there to represent the team and to take in what the coming year’s Tour has to offer.

The route contains just the one individual time trial, coming on the opening stage that starts and finishes in Utrecht. The race also sees the return of a team time trial – a discipline that Team Giant-Shimano has steadily been improving on over the past few seasons, culminating in an eighth place at Septembers Team Time Trial World Championships in Ponferrada, Spain.

The route also features, on paper, nine flat stages, three hilly stages, and seven mountain stages including five summit finishes.

“For me personally as a sprinter I like the first week even though there are cobblestones in it,” admitted Marcel Kittel from the presentation.

“But it will be really hard after the first rest day for sure. The cobblestones are ok, the crosswinds as well, [but] the Mur de Huy is maybe not the sort of finish that I like but I think that we have some good opportunities to go for the sprints and in general for the whole team there are good possibilities.

“I will approach it like I did in 2013 and also 2014 – I just aim to be successful, and that means a stage win. I won’t have that pressure from the first day on and that makes it maybe a bit easier but anyway i will just focus on good teamwork and a good Tour.”

Speaking about the Grand Départ in Utrecht, Kittel said: “I think that we have one certain rider in our team who is looking to the [opening] stage in Utrecht with Tom Dumoulin and I think that its a good situation for us and a very good goal for him.”