Marcel Kittel is returning to professional cycling six years after ending his career. The 14-time Tour de France stage winner will work as a sprint coach for the up-and-coming ProTeam Unibet Rose Rockets from the 2026 season. The 37-year-old German, who achieved a total of 89 professional victories during his active career, including four stage wins at the Giro d'Italia and a stage win at the Vuelta a España, will use his expertise to support new signing Dylan Groenewegen in particular. The signing of the former top sprinter underlines the ambitious goals of the team, which is aiming for a wildcard for the Tour de France in the 2026 season.
Strategic team reinforcement for Grand Tour ambitions
The Unibet Rose Rockets team, which has only existed since 2023 and emerged from a YouTube channel, has made considerable progress in a short space of time. From a Continental team with 13 riders, the squad has developed into a ProTeam with 27 riders, achieving five victories and numerous other top placings last season. In addition to Marcel Kittel as sprint coach, the team has also signed prominent riders for the coming season. The new signings include climbing specialists Wout Poels and Victor Lafay, both of whom have already won stages at the Tour de France. Irish road champion Rory Townsend, who celebrated his first WorldTour victory at the Cyclassics Hamburg last summer, has also joined the team. The most high-calibre signing, however, is Dylan Groenewegen, who has signed a two-year contract. "We want to be right at the front in the sprint, but not just with riders like Dylan," emphasised team boss Bas Tietema, referring to the young sprinters in the team, including the new pros Karsten Feldmann and Ronan Augé as well as the Czech Matyas Kopecky.
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Kittel's new role and expertise for sprint development
Kittel will not only concentrate on the sprints, but will also coach the entire team and help to establish a more professional structure. "The focus is of course on the sprints. But also on coaching the entire team and building a top structure. We definitely need to move up another two levels, towards the WorldTour. That is clearly the ambition," explained Kittel. The German acquired his expertise primarily during his active career, in which he rode for teams such as Giant-Alpecin, Quick-Step Floors and Katusha Alpecin. Kittel received an offer from Tietema to work as a sports director back in 2021, but turned it down and was recently frequently seen as a pundit on Dutch TV channel NOS. The role as sprint coach is new to him, but he sees a lot of potential in the team: "When I look at this team, I recognise a lot from my own time as a racer. I see a group that wants to make its mark on the peloton by making the sprint one of its most important weapons in its attacking style of riding," Kittel analysed.
Focus on Groenewegen and the development of young sprinters
A key focus of Kittel's work will be on Dylan Groenewegen, who struggled last season and only managed three wins in second-tier races. "We will work with Dylan to find out exactly where there is room for improvement," explained Kittel. "This will be a great process next year. For Dylan, but also for the lead-out team. It's crucial that we develop a common thread that prepares the team for WorldTour level and the Tour de France, for example." Kittel is aware that not everything will work immediately: "Certainly not everything will work right away next year. We will try out many things, but that's also top-class sport: many things go wrong and you lose very often. But the moments when you win are particularly valuable and important." Despite the recent difficulties, Kittel believes in Groenewegen's potential for success at the Tour de France: "I'm convinced of that, and he has the same ambition himself."
Commercial and sporting synergies
The appointment of Marcel Kittel as sprint coach has not only sporting but also commercial aspects. Kittel has been a brand ambassador for Rose Bikes, the German bike manufacturer and name sponsor of the team, for many years. This existing connection makes the collaboration particularly meaningful. In addition, Kittel's presence strengthens the German component in the team, which has already signed a German rider in Jannis Peter (Vorarlberg). Team boss Bas Tietema was delighted with the signing: "We are incredibly proud that someone of his calibre believes in what we are trying to build here and that he wants to help us realise our sprint ambitions." The sprint department was the team's problem child last season, as apart from newcomer Lukas Kubis, who hit the ground running, the fast men at Unibet were not convincing.
Leon Weidner
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