Two days ago Theo Bos said goodbye to his time at Belkin at the team's fan day and in a week he will be one of the riders who gathers in South Africa for the first MTN-Qhubeka camp. The Dutchman has signed a two-year contract with the team and wants to pay back the trusts by achieving importany results. "I am one of the riders who is expected to put the team in the spotlight."

That is one of the reasons why he is not riding much on the track this winter - maybe he will only do the Ducth madison championships. Bos wants to lay a firm foundation for his debut season at MTN Qhubeka from his home in Monaco where he finds a good place to train on and off the bike.

"It's not that I don't see the track as preparation for the road," Bos said in an interview with CyclingOnline. "Last year my preparation at the Six-Days of Rotterdam was not bad. But this winter I want more structure and less traveling for my training. The team is counting on me from the start of the season and I want to live up to that trust."

At 31 years of age, Bos is still very ambitious. The sprinter only has five professional seasons on the road in his legs after he won Worlds titles on the track and won silver in the sprint at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the early part of his career.

"Every year I have improved and last season was my best cycling year yet. I hope to continue that trend. I am also happy with the opportunities I have been given so far. When Belkin announced their decision to stop and my contract was about to expire, I was worried about mu future. Every professional, from team leader to domestique, has job security for a long time. I have not talked to Belkin manager Richard Plugge about a contract extension. That was not necessary because MTN came up with a good offer. They believed in me and offered me opportunities, even in biggers races than I did at Belkin."

His schedule a Belkin was partly his own choice.

"Before the 2014 season, we sat around the table and decided that I needed to focus on races where I could win. That was mainly stage races with many bunch sprints. I haven't seen riders like Robert Gesink much in the past year, I really did my own program."

There was no grand tour for Bos who missed both the Giro and the Vuelta due to injury and never did the Tour de France.

"At MTN-Qhubeka, I will also have to wait," he said. "As a team we depend on wildcards. By starting the season well, we can hopefully force our way into the big races. I think the team is less focused on the GC and the climbers than Belkin. I'd like to do a grand tour and win a stage. That's what every sprinter wants. But we'll have to wait and see."

If the team gets a wildcard for Paris-Roubaix, the team management wants to see him at the start. In his debut year with Cervelo in 2010, he abandoned the race but he has not returned in the last few years.

"It is possible to combine Paris-Roubaix with Scheldeprijs," he said. "It appeals to me to do the bigger races again. I am one of the riders that is expected to achieve results for this team so I feel appreciated. The fact that ,ore experienced riders (like Edvald Boasson Hagen, Reinardt Janse van Rens Berg, Tyler Farrar and Matthew Goss, ed.) have signed, is good for the team as it provides a solid foundation. But I would probably have signed even without all those riders. The adventure also appeals to me. I know Cervelo and I know that it is an innovative bike brand. I know several people from the team and it will be fun to work with Michel Cornelisse."

At Belkin, Theo Bos had a big sprint train at his disposal. This will probably no longer be the case.

"But I don't think that out team have to make the races. That's more for teams like Etixx-QuickStep and Giant-Shimano, the absolute best in the field. We will take our chance with our sprinters. 2014 has given me a lot of confidence, including a stage win in the Tour of Poland, and I hope to win big races next season."