In 2014 Sylvain Chavanel will make a surprise move when he changes the Omega Pharma-Quick Step jersey for the IAM tunic. Despite riding for a new team, his goals will, however, remain the same, with the Paris-Nice, the classics and the Tour de France forming the centrepiece of his season.

After 5 years riding in the service of Tom Boonen at Omega Pharma-Quick Step, it will be time for a change for Sylvain Chavanel. In 2014, he will wear the IAM jersey as he has been signed as a leader of the Swiss team.

On paper, a move from a ProTeam to the pro continental level is a step down but his new surroundings offer Chavanel the freedom that he lacked on one of cycling's major teams. On the Belgian team, he mostly found himself riding for other riders, either Boonen in the classics or Mark Cavendish on the flat stages in the Tour de France.

His new team expects him to be the captain in the biggest races and hopes that his mere presence will be enough to earn them an invitation for the Tour de France. He won't change his race schedule much but in 2014, he knows that he will have the team at his disposal.

"When I went abroad with Quick Step, it was to get new experiences," he said while asking questions from readers of La Nouvelle Republique. "I had participated in all the biggest races in France. This allowed be to discover new things, especially the classics - even with the best team in the world.

"Why do I leave no? When you look at my career, I have changed teams approximately every fifth year. I cannot stay for any longer, I don't know why. Maybe I'm tired. We get into a routine. I need to question myself and to get new challenges. Here, I'll have a new race program. I will work with new people. And I'm not afraid of being part of a new group.

"I had the opportunity to join IAM," he added. "The team has only existed for a year, it is still brand new. This motivates me. There are many young people on the team and  I want to share my experience with them. My priority was also to be a leader. I will have a team at my disposal and riders to protect me in the classics where the win will be determined in the last 40km. I had other contacts, with Astana and most of the French teams. I was not ready to stop my career."

While he was younger, the French public hoped that Chavanel would be able to challenge for the yellow jersey in the Tour de France. Those dreams were never realized and instead he has developed into one of the best riders for the cobbled classics and a formidable stage hunter in the Tour de France. In the Paris-Nice, the Eneco Tour and the Driedaagse van de Panne, he has even proved his abilities in shorter stages races.

In 2014 he will once again focus on the races where he has proved his worth.

 "I'll have a more European schedule than in recent seasons," he said. "I won't go to Argentina, the USA or Oman. I would like to be closer to the French public. I'll start with the Grand Prix de la Marseillaise. Paris-Nice will be my first big goal. Then there will be the classics season, from Milan-San Remo to the Amstel Gold Race. Those are three to four weeks when I should be in top condition. With my new team, I have discussed the schedule until July and the Tour de France. We have not discussed the later races but may I could do the Tour Poitou-Charentes. It has become a big race."

In 2014, the Tour de France will include a stage with cobbles for the first time since 2010. On that occasion, Chavanel wore the yellow jersey on the famed stage but paid the price for his spectacular stage win on the previous stage and lost the coveted tunic.

Happy to see the cobbles back in the Tour, he hopes to make amends in 2014.

"Regarding the 2014 Tour, I am focussed on the stage to Arenberg," he said. "The last time we rode over cobbles, I was in the yellow jersey. I was not in great shape and I even had a puncture. I hope that the 2014 edition will have some bice surprises."

Despite Chavanel's success in the classics, the French public still hasn't completely abandoned the idea of seeing their darling chasing grand tour honours. However, the IAM leader is adamant that he will stick to the races where he has proved his talents.

"I would rather win a stage [than finish in the top 10 in the Tour]," he said. "I like to attack. It annoys me to wait in the peloton. I love to be part of the action. Even if I can take time in the time trials, I will always by disadvantaged by my weight in the mountains. Real climbers are 10kg lighter than I am. I can stay with them for a few kilometres but after a while, I always crack.

"I know that if I lost some weight, I could climb very well but I would have to sacrifice too much. I prefer to remain a classics rider and enjoy my time on the bike. I don't want to make cycling an ordeal."

"I would rather win a stage. I like to attack, put the bazaar. Wait in the squad, it bothers me. I love when there is action.Anyway, even if I can catch the time against the clock, I will always be disabled in the mountains by my weight. Real climbers are 10 kg less than me. I can stay with them a few kilometers, but after a while, I always end up cracking. I know that losing a lot of weight, I could very well climb. But this is too much sacrifice. I prefer to stay a classics rider and enjoy myself off the bike. I do not want to make cycling an ordeal."

Chavanel came close to a big classics win in 2011 when he was beaten by Nick Nuyens in a close sprint at the end of the Tour of Flanders. Having followed Fabian Cancellara throughout the entire race, the Frenchman was by many regarded as the strongest rider in that year's edition of the Flemish classic.

"I could have won the Tour of Flanders," he said when asked if he had any regrets. "It is a monument, a race that is part of the history of cycling. But I'm not someone who has many regrets. Of course, it's disappointing when you get so close. But I prefer to focus on the future."

That future could include a win in the Paris-Roubaix where he has so far been hampered by bad luck.

"It is a long race with cobblestones," he said. "I am interested. It's a great desire but I do not dream about it at night. I have discovered these races late in my career, at 28 years of age. I have learnt how to love them. It takes a lot of experience to succeed."

At 34, Chavanel now has the needed experience. And he will try to put it to good use in his new colours in 2014.