John Degenkolb has been one of the most successful riders of 2014, winning 4 stages at the Vuelta plus its points jersey, Gent-Wevelgem and finishing second in Paris-Roubaix plus five more wins.

“I was planning to do a successful season and it worked out. It was a really nice season, during which I worked hard from the beginning until the end. I had a great Spring campaign, but I must admit that in the Tour de France I was disappointed with the crash and the fact I couldn’t win a stage. Then, the Vuelta was great, and the same goes for the one-day races after the Vuelta,” the German said to caferoubaix.com in a recent interview.

The Vuelta was hardly Degenkolb’s first success in a Grand Tour, with 5 stages in the 2012 edition and a stage at the 2013 Giro to his name already, but what the 2014 Vuelta did mark was his first ever points classification win.

“The points jersey in a Grand Tour, especially your first one, is something emotional and very exciting. I’m very proud of winning it. Of course, I enjoyed the stage wins as well, but it was very important to take the green jersey, which was a big goal for me since before the start of the race.”

Perhaps Degenkolb’s biggest moment in 2014 came when he finished second behind Niki Terpstra in Paris-Roubaix, the first time he had podiumed a Monument in cycling.

“The podium in Paris-Roubaix was really special, because it was for the first time in my career that I stood on the podium in a Monument. Gent-Wevelgem is an important race, but Paris-Roubaix is something different, with all that great history behind it and the special moments it had. It was the next big step of my career to be up there on the podium, I had a great feeling and it was very significant for me.”

Degenkolb might have been successful at the Vuelta, but he was at the race to prepare for the 2014 World Championships, also held in Spain. Degenkolb was ninth despite being on antibiotics in the weeks heading up to the event, making his performance even more impressive.

“It was a tough race, also because of the problems I’ve had after the Vuelta, when my white blood cells were high and I had to take a lot of antibiotics in order to get rid of the infection in my body. That made me lose energy for the Worlds, and even tough I was 100% focused and motivated, it was very difficult. But, despite all these problems, I got a top 10 and showed that I’ve improved and can cope better in difficult races and still get a nice result.”

Degenkolb says he felt stronger in 2014 than in recent years and he attributes this down to his better mental strength after having a good 2013 that confirmed his Vuelta ride in 2012 wasn’t a fluke.

“I’m stronger mentally and this helped me stay more calm in the important situations. This was my fourth year as a professional and in every season my “engine” is becoming bigger and bigger. I have more power, and this was the reason for which I chose to do the Tour de France and straight afterwards the Vuelta. This busy schedule I had will have a big influence on my body structure in the winter and for the next Classics season. We hope that this will help me to be in a better shape in the Classics.”

Degenkolb experienced in Paris-Tours something his rival Peter Sagan has experienced since 2012- people not wanting to work with him to take him to the line. Degenkolb was unprepared for this and as a consequence, he expended too much energy and didn’t feature in the final and lost his title.

“This is something I will have to handle in the following years, because if some riders will be with me in the first group not far from the finish, they will know it will be hard to beat me, so will try to drop me, or catch me in a trap and make things more difficult for me.”

He sets himself fairly obvious goals for 2015: another strong Classics campaign followed by a first ever Tour de France stage win to see himself join the club of riders who have won stages in all three Grand Tours.

"My main goal is to repeat the results I’ve had this year, and first of all to have another strong Classics season. Then, I will definitely like to do the Tour de France again. This is the biggest race in cycling and if you are successful there, then you get a lot of attention. It’s very important to be there and I don’t want to miss it, especially as one of my other goals for 2015 is to win a stage in the Tour de France."