Sylvain Chavanel goes into his 16th season as a professional. Even though he admits that he is now one of the veterans, the IAM rider is still hungry to race. In 2015, he plans to do two grand tours, a challenge that he has only faced four times in his career.

After several years at Omega Pharma-Quick Step, Sylvain Chavanel decided to join IAM Cycling for 2014. The main objective for the Frenchman was to be the undisputed leader in the classics.

However, the spring never turned out the way the Frenchman had hoped.

“My early season was messed up by breathing problems,” he told Velochrone in an interview. “Maybe it is because I did not take a vacation last winter (he did cyclo-cross after ending his road season at Chrono des Nations, ed.). I wonder if my body could recover properly. With the accumulated fatigue, any virus can hit you. So I was unable to do Paris-Roubaix and I was off the pace in the Tour Flanders. Then I did not want to take a break.

“I did well in the Four Days of Dunkirk and the Tour of Belgium where I made two podiums. Then it was time for the Tour de France but for it was not a good race since I am no climber. And finally, I recovered well late in the season, particularly with my win in [the GP] Plouay. I think I had a season that was almost similar to what I am used to.”

Last year Chavanel decided not to take a break during the off-season as he wanted to keep his diesel engine going. This year he will change his approach.

“I have decided to take a break, yes,” he said. “I didn’t ride my bike for 20 days. I did two or three hours of sport every day. At the moment, I am doing three hours of cycling per day. I will do my first cyclo-cross race this weekend.

“I also did some mountain biking. It is much more fun. It is less intense than cyclo-cross where you send an hour with a heart rate of 180bpm. I have been hiking with friends. It is more fun and you can do what you want. You go into the mountains when you want. Last Sunday we attended a hike organized by my amateur club and my community. We beat all records. We had 1400 participants in a city with 1600 inhabitants. We were all super happy. It is always nice to go back to basics.”

2014 was an amazing year for French cycling but while the country now has some of the best climbers and sprinters, Chavanel is still the undisputed king of the time trials.

“I have never complained about it, it is not my problem,” he said. “But it is true that I have said that we now have a new generation of climbers and sprinters and we are still waiting for a generation that does well in time trials. The problem may be that we are not doing enough compared to other countries. Many foreigners are coming from the track but that is another discussion.

“This is a sport where you have to have experience. That said, I do not consider myself a pure specialists. This is just my personal pleasure. I can do a bit in all areas.

“This is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The problem is that to win races today you need to specialize. But I have to do with what nature has given me. To win, I will have to attack as I have not specialized as a sprinter.

“Anyway, the fact that I can handle all terrains is what will make me last in cycling.

“I don’t think that you will make substantial progress by training regularly on the time trial bike. First and foremost, I think it is something you have in the genes and then you have to work on the position. Before you can do well in a time trial, you have to do a lot of work on the abs and the lower back to stabilize the body. What is funny to me is that I have back problems and will have so for the rest of my life. Still I can do well in the discipline. Today I have a weak back but as a youngster it was one of my strong points.

“Without a doubt [I would be stronger without those problems]. But as I often say, I am not a rider who is complaining. I try to ride with the means I have at my disposal.”

Despite his strength in the race against the clock, Chavanel is not considering an attempt to break his teammate Matthias Brändle’s hour record.

“I think it is more of a personal challenge than anything else and I can’t see what it would give to me.”

Chavanel refuses that an attempt by him would show the value of the time trial to young French riders.

“No, because we have not spoken about it for a long time and I think people don’t really know about it,” he said. “Even if it seems to come back to the front of the stage. But I do not deny that I have talken to Serge Beucherie (IAM managed, ed.) after Jens Voigt broke the hour record. With all the respect I have for Jens, it was a minimum record. Serge thought it would be a good idea to try in November. But when was I going to have my holiday?

“It is clear that there are things that are much more important than the bike. In November-December, it is the only time you can really do what you want. During the rest of the year, it is not possible. It is important as I have just been through a very tough time. I almost lost my wife after a heart attack three weeks ago. Luckily, she was helped immediately. The main thing is that there are no lasting effects. Everything is back in order. She is still a little weak but it is much better.”

Chavanel has not yet finalized his race schedule but he expects it to be very similar to what he has done in recent years, with the exception that he hopes to add an extra grand tour to his calendar.

“I would like to do two grand tours next year,” he said. “And as always I want to have a big peak between Paris-Nice and Paris-Roubaix. Everything will depend on the team though. It is still not known whether we will join the WorldTour or not. We will make the schedule in December at the first training camp.”

Chavanel has won several Tour de France stages in the past. The first week of the 2015 season looks tailor-made for him as it includes several stages in classics terrains.

“I must admit that I was a little disconnected from the cycling world during the presentation of the course,” he said. “I was on vacation with my family. But I was a bit curious and took a small look at the route. I admit that it is very interesting for me with a chance of echelons, a stage on the cobbles and especially that first day with a 13km time trial. It motivates me. This is the kind of distance that suits me. I have already finished third in the prologue behind Bradley Wiggins and Cancellara in Liege in 2012. If you do a good time trial on the first day, there is the chance that you will get closer to the yellow jersey.”

Chavanel may have been a professional for many years but he is not showing any signs of wanting to slow down.

“It is true that I will start my 1th year as a pro,” he said. “I won’t say that it has become routine but it almost has. The pleasure and the desire are still there. When I don’t feel that in my head, I will stop. But if everything goes as I hope, I plan to ride until I am 40 years old.”