Matthias Brändle (IAM) was in the saddle from early February to October and he was in the mix in numerous races. The Austrian took no less than four victories on the road but his biggest achievement came on the track where he improved Jens Voigt's Hour Record on October 30.

"My balance is very positive. I rode at a consistently high level from start to finish of the season," Brandle told radsport-news.com.

The 25-year-old won his first race in May when he emerged as the strongest in the Tour de Berne, an important home race for his Swiss IAM team. He first showed his strength in the time trial in the Tour de Romandie where he finished seventh in the prologue. 

At the Tour of Belgium (2.HC) it was even better. In the time trial, Brändle was fifth and eventually he finished fifth overall. After a tenth place in the opening time trial of the Critérium du Dauphiné, the defending champion was the top favorite for the time trial at the Austrian Championships and with a comfortable victory, he lived up to expectations. "Compared to last year, these results were a clear improvement," said Brandle who made a name as a stage hunter in the second half of the season.

At the Tour of Britain in September, the IAM rider won two stages in a row. At this time, the anger over his non-selection for the Tour de France was gone. "I told myself that every defeat has a positive aspect and the autumn showed that it is worthwhile to continue fighting," explained Brändle who still had a late highlight to look forward to.

In late October, the Austrian launched a successful attack on the Hour Record on the trach in Aigle and improved the mark to 51.832km. This was a significant 737 meters more than previous record holder Jens Voigt.

"This is certainly the greatest success in my young career," the new world record holder said after the "toughest hour that I have ever experienced in cycling. But the scenery and everything that happened around it, have compensated for it. I am very happy that I was able to enter the history of cycling."

After the spectacular season finale, Brändle wants to take another step towards the world elite in 2015. "In one race or another, I also want to take more responsibility and trust myself even more," said the former NetApp rider who after a few years absence wants to return "to the classics terrain and hunt over the pavés."