Last year, it took a strong Vuelta a Espana performance and a stint in theleaders jersey for 30 year old Janez Brajkovic to earn a renewal in his contract with Astana. This year, he finds himself in the same position but he is not riding the Vuelta, and he is left wondering what will happen next.

“I have nothing,” he said. “Honestly, I have nothing so far, so we’ll see. I don’t know. It’s hard.”

“I need to find a team where I can be myself, do the races I like, and get the results that I know I am capable of getting,” Brajkovic continued. “Ideally, it would be an American team.”

Brajkovic has not endured his best season and in his big goal of the Giro d’Italia, he found himself in an Italian guard rail in the massive stage 6 Montecassino crash that put an end to his race.

Brajkovic does have the ability to attain good results though, with ninth overall in the 2012 Tour de France and a win in the 2010 Dauphine, where he beat Alberto Contador, highlight this. Those results have left him yearning for a return to form and, ideally for him, he would do so with an American team.

“I really miss those American races, the American mentality,” he told Velonews. “I like staying in the States, doing California, Colorado, Utah. I love those races. That’s me. I miss those RadioShack days.”

“Luck! I need some luck,” Brajkovic shook his head. “I’ve been really suffering with injuries all season, and I haven’t been able to show what I am capable of. I feel really good now. I hope to be able to get some results in the races that remain.”

Asked if he would return to the Vuelta, he said:

“Uh … Probably not. I am on the reserve list, but we’ll see.”

“It’s been a really hard season for me, with injuries and no results, and I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself,” he continued. “It’s not over yet. There are still a few races to go. Let’s see if I can get some good results. I just need no bad luck.”

Brajkovic looks in good position at the Vuelta a Burgos, where he currently races. Heading into the final day’s 12km time trial, an aspect of bike racing he usually excels in, he lies fourth overall, 46 seconds behind leader Daniel Moreno and just 9 seconds behind third place man David Arroyo. Should Brajkovic get a podium, it would do his chances of remaining in the WorldTour no harm at all.