André Greipel is planning to peak later than usual in 2015 and so he won't ride the Tour Down Under. Jürgen Roelandts will leave his sprint train to focus on the cobbled classics but the German sprinter knew nothing about it. "I regret that. Jürgen is an important part of my train."

With 14 bictories, André Greipel was the victory king in 2014. Nonetheless, he has chosen another approach for 2015. For the first time since 2007, the German will not be at the Tour Down Under where he is the most successful rider in the history of the race.

"It is the intention to peak a little later," Greipel told Sporza. "Over the year I have had a dip of form in March. The intention is to avoid that in 2015 and that is why we do it differently. At the end of the season we will see whether it has paid off."

Next year Greipel will ride his first race kilometres in the Challenge Mallorca and he will do both the Giro and the Tour. However, his sprint train will look different as Jürgen Roelandts has other targets. When interviewed by Sporza, Greipel knew nothing about that decision.

"Oh, is that so? Is that already completely sure? I regret it. Jürgen is an important part of my train. He's someone I can rely on. It is up to the team to make that decision. Perhaps it is too early to make any guarantees yet."