Gerald Ciolek surprised his critics when he won the Milan-Sanremo in his first year with the smaller MTN-Qhubeka team and generally had a successful season in the African team. In 2014, the German hopes to return to the grand tours while he has also set his sights on another good early season.

Gerald Ciolek was once regarded as one of cycling's greatest talents but the rider who became U23 world champion in 2006 and was a hugely surprising winner of the German road race championships in 2005, could see his progress stalling while he rode for Milan and Omega Pharma-Quick Step. Facing plenty of criticism, he took the unusual and unexpected decision to join the MTN-Qhubeka which was planning to step up to pro continental level for the 2013 team and so became the first professional team from Africa.

One year later, Ciolek can look back at a season that has fully silenced his critics. Already from the beginning of the season, he showed that he was ready to prove them wrong when he rode strongly in the first cobbled races of the season and won a stage in the Driedaagse van Westvlaanderen but the race that really defined his season was the Milan-Sanremo. Having made it into the lead group on the final passage of the Poggio, he beat pre-race favourite Peter Sagan in a close sprint to take the biggest win of his career.

His success continued throughout the remainder of the year with stage wins in the Bayern Rundfahrt and the Tours of Austria and Britain. As his teammate brought in another 12 wins - and are currently adding to the tally in the Tour of Rwanda - the team can look back at a highly successful first professional season.

"Winning is always important," Ciolek told Biciciclismo when asked to look back at the season. "We sat down and made our objectives for the season. We are very pleased to have reached most of them."

In 2013, the team deliberately decided not to seek an invitation for a grand tour, with the management regarding the roster to be too inexperienced to take on a three-week race. With a year under their belt, the situation is different and Ciolek hopes to return to the major stage races in a quest to add to his tally that includes a win in the 2009 Vuelta a Espana.

"We're really hoping that we will do a grand tour next year," he said. "I think the whole team has stepped up and this would be out next big target. For my part I hope to start the season as well as this year."

In his first year with MTN Qhubeka, Ciolek had few regrets but rued his 2nd place in the German championships where he missed out on the opportunity to wear his national jersey for the second time in his career.

"I would have loved to win the German Championships again, but you cannot be ashamed of being beaten by someone like Andre Greipel," he said. "He is a great champion. Next year, I will once again target that race."

Ciolek is one of several Germans that excel at the highest level. With riders like Andre Greipel, Tony Martin, John Degenkolb and Marcel Kittel, the country had a very successful year and may now once again be regarded as one of cycling's powerhouses.

However, the sport has had a difficult time in the big European country. Due to doping scandals, the racing scene has almost disappeared and the country's only professional team in the NetApp-Endura team which only has pro continental status.

While most Germans look back at the successful time with Jan Ullrich and Telekom with some regret, Ciolek admits that the current success owes much to the results of their tainted predecessors.

"This is the generation that started in cycling when it became a very popular sport in Germany due to the success they of Jan Ullrich and the T-Mobile team," he said. "Now there is a kind of bad feeling when we think of that time, but in the end we would not have so many young, successful riders without that period. "

Ciolek will join forces with another talented German in 2014 when Linus Gerdemann returns to the professional peloton with MTN Qhubeka after a one-year absence.