Androni-Sidermec’s Marco Bandiera had a successful 2015 season where he showed himself in the Giro d’Italia. In his home grand tour, he was twice on the podium at the finish in Turin as he was awarded as the winner of the sprints competition and the rider show spent most kilometres in breakaways.

Now he has set his sights on 2016.

"Next year is the eighth pro season and I will have new ideas and new ambitions,” he tells Cyclingpro-net. “Now we are already preparing an important start to the season. I am focused on San Luis and other races in Spain. Then we will do some classics, always hoping for the Giro d’Italia invitation which is very important for us.

"If we have the opportunity to participate in the Giro next year, we will do everything to fight and not only show ourselves in sprints and breakaways, but maybe also win a stage." Bandiera especially targets the stage to "Asolo that passes through my home city. It will be a beautiful thing."

His program for the beginning of the season includes "racing in Spain and Belgium. We will have to plan the start of the season with the team managers and find the races that suit me the best."

2015 was definitely a highlight for Bandiera.

"Last year we had Gatto who is a good friend of mine. We did the first half of the season with good classics in Belgium. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the expected results, but we were the protagonists in breakaways. In the Giro we brought home two wins, despite some bad luck for Oscar and Pellizotti. It’s better to forget the second part of the season. For well-known reasons [the team was suspended for a month due to two positive doping tests], I didn’t do anything from June to October.”

Bandiera is full of compliments when it comes to his team.

"I can say that it is just like a family for me. It is not a small team, but you're right, you get a bit of everything. There is a good relationship with mechanics, masseurs, sports directors, teammates: it's like you can feel in a family. It is a beautiful thing and that's why I decided to stay here with Gianni (Savio, manager, ed.)."

After many years at the highest level, the 31-year-old runner feels he has a significant amount of experience and says that the young riders "have a lot of humility that I have not seen much lately. They want to do well and understand that cycling is a small part of life that doesn’t go on until you are 90. So you have to take advantage of any opportunity that comes.”