According to Het Nieuwsblad, Marcel Kittel may attempt to buy out his contract and sign for Etixx-QuickStep, a deal which may be financed by new team sponsor Lidl.

Despite having a poor year, Kittel is still the fastest sprinter in cycling and after missing out on Giant-Alpecin’s Tour de France team, relations between the two teams appear to be fractured.

Etixx manager Patrick Lefevere is a big fan of the German sprinter and wants to sign him to replace Mark Cavendish as the team’s main sprinter, allowing Fernando Gaviria to have a few seasons to settle and target the 2016 Olympics before he becomes the team’s main sprinter.