Marcel Kittel has the extra pressure of starting the upcoming Tour de France with the label of “Sprint King”. However, this does not seem to have fazed him as he has approached any other objective: by doing what he does best, winning.

His big aim is to repeat last year’s Tour success, starting by winning stage one in Harrogate and taking the Yellow Jersey. But the German is not convinced he will have the chance to race for yellow.

"If the teams decide to make it really fast in the hilly middle part, then I don't know if that will happen, it'll be hard [for the pure sprinters] to be there in the final."

Should that happen, Giant's plan 'B' would then kick into action, in the shape of John Degenkolb. "That final part is made for John - if the racing has been hard before," creating, Kittel says, "the kind of terrain and situation where he is world-class, and that's also why I say he should win. So in Giant, it's not just me for the win - we have plenty of cards to play."

But all eyes are on Kittel rather than Degenkolb. He is the fastest man in the world now after all. And there are big expectations.

Even from fellow rider like Orica Greenedge’s Michael Matthews, one of the men who have given Kittel the sprint king label.

"I can be confident enough to say I've beaten the best sprinters in the world, and that gives me the confidence for the next races to try and be there and to beat them again," he reflects, "I think it depends on the situation."

"Of course, if I could repeat last year's situation, and take four wins, I wouldn't say no!. But for me that was 2013, even if of course they are very nice memories and great for my confidence for 2014."

"But this is a new race now, everything is possible, big success and big defeats: anything can happen."

"In any case, just getting one stage victory in the Tour de France is a success. So my goal for this year is to win a stage and if I win that I will be satisfied with my Tour. And it would be great to finish it, too."

"The green jersey? We'll see what happens. Going for intermediate sprints? So far, they're not on my radar. But we'll have a chat in the team in the final runup to the Tour: never say never."

Kittel is not as fast at accelerating as Mark Cavendish is, but he has a long sprint that is quicker than anyone else’s.

"The key to winning is knowing, depending on the type of course, how long you will have to hold that high speed in a sprint." - and of course, being able to put theory into practice. "If it's uphill it's maybe 150 metres, if downhill it's 300 metres. It really depends on the finish." And whilst Cavendish will be doing his utmost to ensure he succeeds, not Kittel, the German points out "We shouldn't underestimate André Greipel, specially for those harder stages, too. But anyway, a lot depends on how well your team is racing, not just yourself. If it goes perfectly, I can beat those guys."

But Kittel has been training hard on his acceleration. And the whole world saw this in Dublin on stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia, where Kittel cam from nowhere to pip Ben Swift of Sky in the final 100m. Yet he is cautious about whether or not he can repeat it.

"It was different," Kittel recalls with a smile. "I did not really think about it, I just thought 'I have to go now', I wasn't sure if I could make it. It was more an attack than a sprint."

"In the end I was surprised that I could make up that much space in such a short amount of time. It was very encouraging for me to see win from such a situation, but" - he says with disarming honesty - "if there were guys like Greipel or Cavendish ahead of me in a Tour de France sprint, I wouldn't have been able to do that."

Kittel has raced less in 2014 than last year but he believes that may help him rather than hinder him as he is fresher than usual.

"Maybe I'll get to the Tour with fewer race days than in 2013, but that's not a problem for me. In fact, one big block of training here and then a few minor races as a buildup is probably better for me."

"I feel pretty confident I'll be as good as I was last year, and that's what matters," he says.

"I think it's something you can say about any sprinter. As long as he's fresh enough and knows he can make it to the finish, whatever they throw at him in the final, it won't make him give up. He will try to win." 

Kittel is back this year to prove his 2014 Tour was not a fluke. And make no mistake about it, he’s determined, ready to go and faster than ever in 2014.