In his fifth year at Team Sky, Christian Knees will again mainly be a domestique. However, the German wants to "be so good that I can sometimes ride for the win" in the spring classics as he tells radsport-news.com in an interview. Knees has not targeted a specific race but his dream is to be "involved in the finale of Paris-Roubaix or the Tour of Flanders."

After he failed to be selected for the Tour de France in 2013 and 2014, Knees would like to again make the cut. "My chances are just as good as they have been in previous years, I am on the long list. As we approach the Tour, it gets whittled down," says Knees who underlines the fact that he is part of one of the best teams in the world. "The fact that I have missed out on Tour selection the last two years is no shame when you ride for Sky. But I am motivated to make it this year."

Before we get to July, the all-rounder has a very busy schedule. It starts in February with two races of the Mallorca Challenge followed by the Tours of Qatar and Oman which will be the preparation for the European spring races. The cobbled classics are the first highlight of the season.

He has not changed his preparation much compared to previous years. "Last year I was happy with my season and I will build on what I did in 2014," he said. Knees, who turns 34 in March and has agreed on a contract extension for another year with the management of the British racing team, does not plan to retire in the imminent future. "I have more than one year in the legs," he said. "I still have a lot of fun on the bike and do not feel old enough for retirement."

For his twelfth season as a professional, Knees wants to be "healthy, otherwise nothing is possible. But health is the most important thing." A big sporting goal is still far away, but it is nevertheless already on the schedule. "I've never participated in the Olympics - to be at the start in Rio in 2016 would be a goal for me, as a second German participant in in the time trial  behind Tony Martin," said Knees, who wants to focus more on the discipline. On the other hand, the hour record which is a hot topic among the professionals, is not an option.. "This is not an issue," said Knees.