Sonny Colbrelli is ready for an important season in 2016. The Bardiani - CSF leader has just finished a difficult 2015 season whose first part was impacted by health problems and prevented him from doing well in big events like Milan - San Remo. Having returned to good condition in the summer months, the 25-year-old got some important success at the Tour du Limousin and the GP Beghelli, the last race of the year, thus boosting his ambitions.

Colbrelli recently attended the first training camp with his Bardiani team and is now ready for a big year.

“In one day we realized that we have a close-knit group,” he tells Spaziociclismo in an interview. “There is a desire to do my best every year and to redeem a 2015 season that was difficult from many points of view. We are ready and determined.

I finished 2015 well but it was not a great year for me, with bad luck and illness in my races. I redeemed myself after the Giro d’Italia and I did well in the second half. I finished 2015 with a victory and who knows, maybe I can open 2016 with another victory. The skills are all there. Now I just need to get ready and be determined.”

Colbrelli had a marvellous 2014 season and so it was a big disappointment that his spring season ended as a disaster.

“At the beginning of the season there were many races where I failed, especially Milan - San Remo that was my goal,” he says. “Then the Giro was also not that great, but when you are suffering from illness, you cannot do anything else than recover and redeem yourself.”

Colbrelli is a fast rider who climbs well which could potentially make him a contender for the cobbled classics. Next year Bardiani plans to ride a lot more in Belgium.

“Surely, now we'll see with the invitations and then we will make the right program to be at the best in the major races,” he says when asked about his ambitions on the cobbles."

As usual, the Giro d’Italia will again be a big goal.

“We'll first have to see with all the invitations before making a prediction, but the team has always performed well at the Giro in recent years,” he says. “I have targeted some stages but we must be calm, try to do well immediately and then think about the targets.”

Until now, Colbrelli has often shared the captaincy role with Enrico Battaglin who has moved to LottoNL-Jumbo.

“At Bardiani, another rider can be the leader just as well as me,” he says. “Those who are good and fit will be the captain. That decides the strategy and the leader, but if something goes wrong during the race there is now another to replace him. Everybody has space in this team.”

In 2014, Colbrelli was selected for the World Championships but he was not included in the selection for Richmond.

“There was some regret because I had prepared well at altitude,” he says. “If you can go to the Worlds and is one of the reserves, it is never good but those were the choices. In subsequent races I showed that I could have been part of the team.”

Next year’s course in Qatar is expected to suit the sprinters.

“It’s a flat race for pure sprinters,” Colbrelli says. “But in recent years I've seen all sorts of people who are not fast, come to the fore in Qatar. With the wind, the race is much tougher. We have to see, but you need people with experience. You can be the strongest, but if you cannot keep position in the echelons, you have no chance.

“It​​’s a goal [to get selected], but there are many others. The national team is never taken for granted. I will try to be ready and be in the team.”