Team Giant-Shimano's Marcel Kittel has never ridden the Giro d'Italia before. But the German isn't particularly nervous about his debut in the Italian GT. After a successful spring he is now ready for the challenges of nervous sprint finishes.

“My season is divided into several parts,” Kittel said at the Giro d'Italia press conference today. “The first one ended with the Scheldeprijs. I did well in the spring, and can draw confidence from the results I got.”

The sprinter took a break after winning the Scheldeprijs and returned to racing at the Tour de Romandie last week. After a podium spot in the prologue, he finished far from the top on the hard stages that followed and abandoned the race on stage 4.

“The Tour de Romandie was a tough workout to prepare for the Giro, and it also was a good way to get working as a team. Now, the Giro is the highlight of my second race block. I want to get more experience in this race, and together with my team I hope that we can perform well.”

Elia Viviani (Cannondale) showed very good form last week in the Tour of Turkey, and has to be considered as another contender for the sprints. But Kittel doesn't fear the Italian any more than his other rivals.

“Of course I followed the race in Turkey, and Viviani is in very good form. But so are others. We'll keep an eye on him, but we have to do our part of the job as well.”

In order to be as well-prepared as possible, Kittel and the rest of the Giant-Shimano team will embark on a reconnaissance ride of the stage 2 final tomorrow. The stage is expected to end in a sprint. However, the second half along the coast could catch some riders off-guard if there is enough wind.

A sprinter's skill set

The German has no doubts about what qualities a sprinter needs to succeed when the sprint finally comes along: “Other than force and courage, and an ability to read the race, you need concentration. But most important is teamwork. A sprint win isn't a victory for only one person, but for the whole team.”

Asked what made sprints in Italy, and especially in the Giro, different, Kittel laughed: “I don't think there is a difference, but of course I have no idea! At the end, it's still a bike race. I know that my team is good in that, and especially in the sprints. We'll do our sprint preparations just like normal.”

After the team presentation on Thursday, the Giro d'Italia will start for real Friday evening with a 21.7-km TTT. Stage 2, starting and finishing in Belfast, will be the first opportunity for Kittel to get experience in Giro sprints – even though it's on Irish roads.