On the back of a highly successful Tour de France, Marcel Kittel (Argos-Shimano) returns to competition in the Eneco Tour which starts on Monday. The sprinter-friendly race is ideally suited to the powerful German who hopes to add to his tally which includes two stage wins from last year's race.

Marcel Kittel took over the sprint crown in this year's Tour de France by winning no less than four stages, including the first one into Bastia and the final one on the Champs-Elysees. After a short break, he is ready to return to competitive action in the Eneco Tour where he will line up as part of a very strong team containing many of his teammates from the Tour.

Last year Kittel won the first and four stages and he should have plenty of opportunities to add to his tally. As usual, the 7-day race has plenty of opportunities for the sprinters and the team will be totally dedicated to their fast German in the flat finishes.

As the Eneco Tour takes place in Belgium and the Netherlands, it is a home race for Argos-Shimano, and so the Dutch team has gathered most of its big-name riders for the race. John Degenkolb will be present and hopes to shine in the harder stages that take in some of the classics terrain in which the German hard-man excels.

Talented time triallist Tom Dumoulin will be the man for the GC which is often heavily influenced by the time trial. Having just finished a successful first Tour, the Dutchman is ready to fight for top 10 place in a race that suits him perfectly.

The team is completed by lead-out riders Tom Veelers, Koen De Kort, Albert Timmer and Roy Curvers who were all part of the successful Tour line-up and Canadian Francois Parisien who is another fast man that could come in handy in as a support rider in the harder sprint finishes.

“We have a very strong team, with most of the guys that rode the Tour de France," coach Rudi Kemna said. "We have four time Tour stage winner Kittel for the flat sprints and Degenkolb for the more difficult finishes. Youngster and Tour revelation Tom Dumoulin will be aiming to finish well overall. This stage race suits him very well with the time trial and the hillier stages. I am looking forward to trying to repeat the success that we had at the Tour de France here.”

This week another part of the Argos-Shimano team will start the inaugural Arctic Tour of Norway which starts on Thursday and runs until Sunday. Held in beautiful surroundings, the race should be one for the sprinters and could very well end up with four bunch sprints. Hence, it suits Argos-Shimano perfectly and the Dutch team has sent a number of fast riders to Norway.

Ramon Sinkeldam, Jonas Ahlstrand and Nikias Arndt are all fast riders that could mix it up in the sprints. The former has had a breakthrough season this year and shone in the sprints in the 4 Jours de Dunkerque and the Tour of Belgium earlier this year. He most recently had a very aggressive showing in the RideLondon Classic on Sunday. The team is completed by Thierry Hupond, Tom Stamsnijder and talented Tobias Ludvigsson.

"This is the first time that the race will be held so that means that we will have to see how it will pan out," coach Jorn Knops said. "The stages are ideal for sprinters in Norway. We have a strong line-up for this situation with sprinters like Nikias Arndt, Jonas Ahlstrand and Ramon Sinkeldam. Alongside these guys, we also have riders who can put in long, sustained efforts in the breaks or on the front. We will decide the final tactics day-by-day.”

Argos-Shimano for the Arctic Tour of Norway

Jonas Alhlstrand, Ramon Sinkeldam, Tom Stamsnijder, Thierry Hupond, Tobias Ludvigsson and Nikias Arndt

Argos-Shimano for the Eneco Tour

Marcel Kittel, Tom Dumoulin, John Degenkolb, Tom Veelers, Koen De Kort, Roy Curvers, Albert Timmer and Francois Parisien