The dual sprinting forces of Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb delivered in spades throughout the 2013 season. Besides notching win after win, Kittel’s ice vanilla haircut and Degenkolb’s moustache ensured the team was in the headlines even when not racing. Wins were common and varied although a lack of success in overall classification results meant the team finished the season with just one rider who had over 100 World Tour points to his name.
Having stepped up to the World Tour level in 2013, the team proved it was more than worthy to complete across the season. The change from green trims to blue marked the team’s arrival to the top league and the team’s riders made sure that Argos-Shimano was regularly on people’s lips for only good reasons.
February brought two mountain classification victories, March a handful of stage wins. April however saw Kittel hit his straps. Victory at Scheldeprijs and three stages at the Tour of Turkey led many to question whether he could be the sprinter to end the dominance of Mark Cavendish at the Tour.
After his five stage wins at the Vuelta de España, Degenkolb led the team at the Giro d’Italia. He couldn’t match the speed of Cavendish and let with the solitary stage win. In May Kittel continued his winning ways at the Tour de Picardie as he notched his first ever overall victory. The two sprinters were winning for fun and discussion settled on who would lead the team at the Tour.
Tom Dumoulin was the best young rider at the Tour of Belgium in May which went with his mountain classification victory at the Vuelta a Andalucía, In the traditional Tour de France warm up race, Critérium du Dauphiné, Thomas Damuseau was victorious in the mountain classification. On the same day the Dauphiné ended, Kittel took home the ProRace Berlin.
While Kittel and Degenkolb were racking up wins with ease, it was André Greipel who took the sprint win in the battle for the German national road championships.
Season highlights: The four stage wins by Kittel at the Tour, a stint in yellow and the green jersey was a definite highlight for 2013. The Tour was a dream with Kittel more than matching it with Cavendish in the sprints. After a crash marred finale of Stage 1 raised questions whether Kittel was the fastest man in the peloton, he went on to prove he was. His victory on the Champs-Élysées was a triumph over Cavendish and Greipel marking a transition to a younger sprint star who could beat his rivals far and square.
While Degenkolb snared his first Giro stage win it was in one day races that he excelled. There were only six wins in 2013 but it was the calibre of his results that made the headlines. Paris-Tour, Vattenfall Classics and Paris-Bourges were claimed by Degenkolb with stage wins at the Tour de l'Eurometropole an addition to an ever impressive palmares.
While known as a sprinters team, Warren Barguil offered a sign of the many strings to the teams bow. He conquered the medium mountain stage 13 at the Vuelta before ascending the fastest to the Stage 16 summit of Formigal in his debut grand tour. He finished the race in 38th place overall but at just 21, he looks to be a future star of the sport.
Season Lowlights: In a season of highs there was very little which detracted from the season long celebrations. The dual sprint force of Degenkolb and Kittel at the Tour meant the team didn’t dominate the Vuelta sprints again. However as the last grand tour of the year was a mountainous affair, this allowed Barguil to ride his own race.
The lack of success in overall classifications was a lowlight and having a broader spread of winners in 2014 should see the team move up the World Tour rankings. As a debut World Tour season, it was all about the success the team enjoyed.
Rider of the Season: Undoubtedly Kittel was the star of the Argos-Shimano season and the season as a whole. Having dropped out of the Tour last year due to stomach issues, 2013 was dream ‘proper’ debut for the German. Mixing up stage race wins with one day races was evidence of the sprinters capabilities, as was the overall victory at Picardie.
The highlight to Kittel’s season was Stage 2 of the Tour. Not for a win but for being decked out in yellow as the first maillot jaune of 2013. He lost the jersey after just one day but held the points jersey for two stages. It will be hard to improve on his showing next year and there is no doubt 2013 was a vintage year for Kittel.
Signing of the Season: Having shown his potential in 2012 as a stagiaire, Barguil thanked the team with his two Vuelta stage wins. The success in Spain saw Barguil take his place in the French team at the World Championships. With a full season under his belt the young Frenchman will be an improved rider with more strength in his legs and acumen in his head.
He also placed third overall in the young riders classifications at Bayern-Rundfahrt and the Critérium du Dauphiné which suggested he has the engine to perform throughout the season.
Disappointing Rider of the Season: With a young team full of potential, the expectations on the team have not been overwhelming. The focus on youth and success of the team means there was no evident disappointing rider. The disappointment of the season was more the crashes that hampered several riders seasons. Will Clarke failed to notch a win and has announced that in 2014 he will ride for the Australian Drapac team. The fact the team failed to record a team classification victory is disappointing but with the emphasis on sprint this isn’t unexpected.
2014 Prospects: The late season win at Binche–Tournai–Binche by South African Reinardt Janse van Rensburg was a promising sign for the classics. A fit Koen de Kort should see the team challenge for the semi-classic cobble races early in the season with two riders leading the team. There will also be plenty of eyes on Barguil to see him improve upon his Vuelta triumphs while the younger riders improve race by race.
The domination of Degenkolb and Kittel should continue in 2014. Kittel’s season for all intents and purposes ended on the Champs-Élysées with victory at Omloop van het Houtland Lichtervelde the only success after July. If he can keep his top end speed throughout the season he will be a formidable force. With the 206 Worlds a course for the sprinters he’ll need to think long term if he wants the rainbow jersey.
Degenkolb was largely playing second fiddle in 2013 and will want to be the protected sprinter more often in 2014. The friendly rivalry should see both sprinters push each other to greater success. An intriguing tactic that could come into play would be a two pronged sprint attack in 2014 with Degenkolb and Kittel on either side of the road squeezing their rivals into the middle and off the podium.
All in all, Argos-Shimano had a dream debut at World Tour level and should improve again in 2014.
UCI Points: 16th Ranked Team with 355 points: Degenkolb (119), Kittel (92), Dumoulin (85), Barguil (32), Mezgec (27)
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