Nacer Bouhanni had a highly successful 2013 season that saw him win no less than 11 races. The Frenchman has now started his preparation of the 2014 season by doing boxing and riding cyclo-cross and has set his sights on the Tour de France, the World Championships and Milan-Sanremo in the future.

Nacer Bouhanni has long been regarded as a huge sprinting talent. After a calm start to his professional in 2011, he gave the first glimpses of his potential in 2012 when he won the French championships and got close to a first grand tour stage win in the Vuelta a Espana.

However, it is his 2013 exploits that have truly moved him up towards the top of the sprinting hierarchy. Having already beaten some of the greatest sprinters on the final stage of the Tour of Oman, he took his first WorldTour win in the Paris-Nice and his stage 1 win was enough to put him into the overall lead. He crashed out of the race one day later but returned to form later in March by winning the Val d'Ille Classic and a stage in the Circuit Cycliste Sarthe.

He made his debut in the Giro d'Italia where he was one of the closest challengers to an almost unbeatable Mark Cavendish but left the race early to prepare for his first participation in the Tour de France. He fought hard to win a stage in the Criterium du Dauphiné but struggled on the mountainous course and left the race empty-handed before lining up in the world's biggest race.

That ended up being a completely forgettable experience. Having already crashed on stage 1, he battled illness on stage 5 but still chose to participate in the bunch sprint in Marseille. He caused the big crash that cost Jurgen van den Broeck his further participation and his own injuries took him out of the race one day later.

Having left the disappointment behind him, he bounced back in the final part of the season by winning 7 races - among those the big home classics GP de Fourmies and Tour de Vendee as well as two WorldTour races in the Tour of Beijing - and ended the season on a high note. With 11 wins, he truly marked himself out as one of the best sprinters in the world.

While the results are truly impressive, they are partly overshadowed by the bad luck that plagued him during two of his most important races.

"I mainly gained a lot of experience," he told 100% Velo when asked to assess his season. "I had a very good start but the crash in the Paris-Nice was hard as I broke my ribs and teeth. It made it difficult in the next months but I still did the Criterium International.

"After the Giro, I went to the Dauphiné," he added. "I was hard. Then we had the Tour where I abandoned due to gastroenteritis. It was a really bad race. On the other hand, the final part of the season was a great success."

In 2013, FDJ has left the role of being an underdog and has taken plenty of responsibility in the races that could suit one of its two talented sprinters, Bouhanni and Arnaud Demare. Next year, the team will once again put much faith in their two young talents who will have separate calendars and so be allowed to chase their own results.

To win as many races as possible with two sprinters, the team needs two lead-out train and so has bolstered its roster with the signing of Sebastien Chavanel. While Demare is mostly working with his trusted lead-out man Mickael Delage, Bouhanni will be assisted by Geoffrey Soupe, William Bonnet and Chavanel.

"I first have to get to know and work with him," he said when asked about Chavanel. "He has a lot of experience and has done beautiful things, both on the WorldTour and in other races. Sebastien is mature and I can learn from him."

In the Giro, Bouhanni showed that he is not far off the mark set by the best sprinters in the world but he was unable to beat Mark Cavendish in the Italian race. While he is striving to become one of the lead sprinters, he knows that he is still not there.

"There are two: Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish," he said when asked to select the best sprinter in the world. "Although Cavendish didn't shine in the Tour this year, you should just look at his palmares. He is a very tough guy. He is always there. He is the fastest."

Bouhanni is currently enjoying his off-season and prepares for the first FDJ training camp that begins on December 10. Known for his passion for boxing, he spends the off-season by practising a sport that he cannot do much during the main season.

"I mainly do bodybuilding and boxing," he said. "I have not touched my bike since the end of the season, except during the three cyclo-cross races I have done."

Bouhanni has already won several prestigious races but he still has lots of goals for the future. One of them includes a stage win in the biggest race in the world.

"Actually, there are several [races I would like to win]," he said. "I think of the stages in the Tour de France for example, but also the World Championships, it is a dream. There are also some classics like Milan-San Remo."

For the second year in a row, the sprinters will get their chance to take the yellow jersey on the opening day in the Tour de France. Bouhanni missed out on the chance in 2013 and is eager to take revenge in 2014.

With his and Demare's race schedules still being kept as a secret, he refuses to look too far ahead though.

"The season has not started yet and the Tour de France is still far away," he saud. "The season is very long for me because it goes from February to October so I will take each thing at its time. For now, I focus on my early season and there are great races coming up. Usually, I'll start with the Etoile de Bessèges, then I'll do Oman and Paris-Nice."

Bouhanni ended his season on a high by winning two stages and the points jersey in the Tour of Beijing.