BMC Racing Team rider and recently dethroned world road race champion Philippe Gilbert has identified his main target for the first half of the 2014 season even before the curtain has been irreversibly pulled on the current season.

Cycllingquotes.com met the Belgian one-day race specialist at BMC’s rather early 2014 team presentation in Grenchen, Switzerland. Reflecting on his year in the rainbow jersey, Gilbert was objective and unpretentious in his assessment.

“It’s been a very long season,” Gilbert told Cyclingquotes.com. “I’ve done two Grand Tours and I’ve been racing practically all year. I didn’t achieve the results I was aiming for. 2014 can only be an improvement.”

Throughout the season, Gilbert has from time to time vented his frustration that wearing the rainbow jersey made it more difficult for him to launch his famous bursts of acceleration towards the end of races because the jersey and its owner tend to attract a lot of attention from rivals. At the presentation, however, Gilbert refused to use the rainbow jersey as a pretext for a season that pales in comparison with his previous achievements.

“For a sprinter to wear the rainbow jersey doesn’t make too big a difference because his team will always make sure that he is brought to the centre of the action and they will set up a lead-out train for him. For a rider like me, wearing the rainbow jersey, it naturally becomes a major focal point for rivals. However, it’s no excuse for my results this season.”

In subsequent articles we will bring you further extracts of the extensive interview with Gilbert as he talks about his rescheduled preparations for the 2014 season, his new main goal, the possibility of him riding the Tour de France, the increasing number of summit finishes in the Vuelta and the prospect of him repeating his all-conquering performances of 2011.