Marcel Kittel has been linked with a move to the Etixx-Quick Step team according to Het Nieuwsblad. The German sprinter has struggled this season and missed out on the Tour de France having not been selected by his Giant-Alpecin team.
Kittel is expected to be announced later today as the team’s latest signing, and will replace Mark Cavendish as the team’s sprinter. The Manxman is moving to the MTN-Qhubeka team.
The German discount supermarket Lidl is expected to become a sponsor of the Etixx-Quick Step team, and this will allow the team to sign Kittel. The team already have another big name German cyclist on their roster, Tony Martin.
Lidl has 8,000 supermarkets in 23 European countries, and Lidl Belgium have previously been the food and beverage partner of Lotto-Belisol. In the past they have also backed Milram, NetApp and T-Mobile.
It’s unclear how much funding they would bring to the team and how long the sponsorship deal might last for.
