Matthew Busche is finally going to make his Tour de France debut at 29 years of age. But the American is trying to remain as cool as possible and is trying to treat the World’s biggest race as just any other ordinary race.

"On one hand, I want to try to treat it like any other race, and don’t over-hype it or over-think it,” Busche told VeloNews during a phone interview last week. “But it is the Tour. To even be on the long list was already an honor, so to be selected, I am definitely excited about it.”

“It definitely means a lot to be selected. Being part of the Tour confirms that I deserve to be here, that I’ve earned my spot on the team,” Busche said. “I knew the whole season I was on the long list, so to have that already gave me motivation.”

“I always knew what the Tour was, and my family was also interested in cycling, but I never thought I’d ever race the Tour until I turned pro a few years ago,” he said. “Being selected for the Tour is something I’ve always worked for, but I didn’t dwell on it.”

He may have been a late arrival to cycling but he immediately impressed on the WorldTour stage with his determination and energy. He struggled initially but eventually big results in Europe came his way. In 2010, he was third at the Tour of Denmark, and was second at the 2012 Tour of Utah behind Johann Tschopp. But his biggest result came in the form of the 2011 US Road Race, where he won the race and this gave him his first natinal title, as well as a spot on the Radio Shack Vuelta team, his first Grand Tour.

It was at last year’s Vuelta where Busche proved his real worth, helping Chris Horner in the mountains on route to his teammate winning the overall. This led Trek to resign him for 2014, making him the only American on the US-registered team.

“Previously I was not selected for the Tour in part due to my lack of experience,” he said. “I’ve certainly stepped up on the experience ladder, and I think my performances have shown to the directors that I can perform at the level of the Tour.”

“I feel that I belong here, that I can race at this level,” he said. “I am still searching for that elusive win on European soil. I know it will come. I just have to keep working hard, and improve each year.”

He also told Velonews about what his role will be in the Tour; pretty much identical to that of last year’s Vuelta, where he will help his leaders Franck Schleck and Haimar Zubeldia in the mountains.

“I will be a domestique for Frank and Haimar for the GC, and then maybe get my chance in a breakaway, and try to steal a stage,” he said. “We don’t have an outright favorite for victory, but we still have pressure on ourselves to perform well. If we can walk away with a top-10 on GC, and maybe a stage win or two.”

“I knew the Tour was a big race, of course, but I didn’t dwell on it. I always try to focus on doing the best I can in the race that I am in,” he said. “Once I am in the Tour, I will be able to see the show and be part of it. Then I will be able to see for myself just how big of a race it is.”