With 40 victories and a spot in the top 10 of the WorldTour teams classification, Lotto Soudal had a fantastic year. Manager Marc Sergeant hopes to do equally well in 2016. "The riders who achieved success are still good and so we need to try to maintain the standard of last season."

Marc Sergeant was a happy man at the presentation of Lotto Soudal in the City Theatre in Antwerp. The Lotto manager has retained most of his team for next season and hopes for more success in 2016.

"We talked a long time about the upcoming season and the conclusion is clear: there is still a lot of potential in this group. The riders who achieved success, are still good and so we need to try to maintain the standard of last season," he told Sporza.

"I am not talking about forty victories, but we should certainly be able to remain in the top ten in the world. As a team we would love to win a monument. Last season, André Greipel won Vattenfall and Tim Wellens won GP Montréal, which are both classics but not monuments.

"We now have a broader base of strong riders. With Roelandts, Benoot, Debusschere, Wallays and De Bie, we should be in the mix. In other words, we can select a team which I know will be there in the last 50km."

Sergeant was again asked about the disappointing performance of Tim Wellens in the Tour. "That was not so hard for us, it was harder for him. He had set the bar very high and had done everything for it. Perhaps a little too much.

"We had decided to give him the benefit of the team and allow him to stay under the radar at the Tour. He did so and he appreciated that we have protected him from the wind in this way. Then he gave us a beautiful autumn with victories in the Eneco Tour and the Grand Prix in Montreal."

With sixteen victories, including four stages in the Tour,  André Greipel was responsible for a big part of the success of Lotto Soudal in 2015. "It is not easy to repeat," the German top sprinter said.

"From January 1, 2016, we are back at zero. Of course I mainly want to show myself in the bunch sprints, but I also want to be good in the cobbled classics. We have a good team and can win a classic.

"The Tour is of course a key objective. We are likely to be sprinting for the yellow jersey in the first stage. I'm going all in for that.

"If I have to choose between a classic like Gent-Wevelgem and yellow in the Tour, I go for the yellow jersey. You cannot get that jersey without winning a stage and that would mean that I have achieved an important goal for my season.

"After the Tour I will focus fully on the rainbow jersey in Qatar. It is a flat course, but it will not be an easy race. Those who know the Tour of Qatar, know that it is a tough race. I try not to think too much about it yet because it's not even sure that I will be the captain of the German team."