Kittel sprinted to fourteen stage victories in the Tour, four in the Giro and one in the Vuelta. However, at the age of 31, Kittel decided he had had enough and chose his family. He now has three children with the Dutch former volleyball player Tess von Piekartz.
Suspended rider Oier Lazkano bites back after much-discussed doping allegations: ‘I have never used banned substances’
The German – who rode in Dutch service for five years – remained associated with the race in recent years, as an analyst and commentator. That’s why I asked Domestique him for an interview and Kittel elaborated on the question of whether the current peloton is ‘clean’. This is in response to the doping positive test of, among others, Oier Lazkano.
Hold a mirror up to the riders
“When I became a professional, all those doping revelations had already happened,” said Kittel, who in the past advocated life bans for riders caught doping. “Everyone knew about the systematic use of doping, especially in the 1990s and beyond. There were fans who shouted and spat at us. I wondered what this had to do with me. It is necessary to hold up a mirror to the riders of then, but also to those of today.”
And so he concludes: “I don’t believe that cycling is clean now. Absolutely not. Anyone who thinks that is not looking closely at reality. There will always be people who try to circumvent the system. That is not necessarily part of cycling, but of people. Look at the budgets that have skyrocketed, the salaries that riders can earn… I am not saying that it is widespread, but that there are riders who see an opportunity. Not to cheat, but to have a better life create for themselves. Journalists and fans have the right to doubt.”