It has been a successful and eventful start to the 2017 season for Marcel Kittel.
The German Quick-Step Floors rider, a nine-time stage winner at the Tour de France, was the star of the show at the Dubai Tour this month.
He comfortably retained the title he won in 2016 courtesy of three stage victories out of four, with one stage cancelled due to "dangerous" weather.
Kittel, 28, was also in the headlines for less savoury reasons when he was the victim of a punch to the face thrown by Astana Pro Team’s Andriy Grivko, who was subsequently disqualified from the race.
However, both the success and the scandal of Dubai are things of the past as Kittel prepares to make his mark this week at the Abu Dhabi Tour, the first since its upgrade to UCI World Tour status in September.

Source: The National