After a fantastic debut season in the professional ranks, Moreno Moser had a terrible second year in 2013. Having failed to live up to expectations on numerous occasions, the Italian has faced plenty of criticism from his home press but is adamant that he can return to the level he showed one year ago.

Moreno Moser stole all the headlines in his first professional season in 2012. In just his second race at the top level, the then 21-year-old won the traditional Italian one-day race, Trofeo Laigueglia, and from there, he went from success to success.

He won the biggest German one-day race when he triumphed in the Rund um de Finanzplatz and showed that he can also handle the WorldTour races when the won two stages and the overall in the Tour de Pologne. He received enormous praise for his impressive results and expectations were big for his second season in the professional ranks.

Things got off to a great start when he combined forces with Peter Sagan to win the Strade Bianche race in early March but that was almost the only major result he produced in what should have been a year of confirmation for the talented Italian. He failed to provide any kind of support to Sagan or chase a personal result in the Ardennes classics, was far from the best at the Italian championships and his maiden Tour de France was a major disappointment. He bounced back with a solid showing on one single day when he finished 3rd on the Alpe d'Huez climb but otherwise rode an anonymous race.

After having had another disappointing performance in the Vattenfall Cyclassics, Moser and his Cannondale team decided to put an early end to the season. Realizing that the season hadn't lived up to expectations, the team management chose that rest was needed.

The lack of results has made Moser vulnerable to criticism and the young Italian has faced much skepticism from the Italian media. In an recent interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, he fired back at his critics and compared himself to a young football player who has found himself in a similar situation.

"Some already see me as a finished rider," he said. "In sport, people often have a bad memory. Just see what is going on with Balotelli who is also criticized and has the same age.

"The criticism just motivates me," he added. "I am not a meteorite but after this season I will not regard myself as a rider from the second line. I have not grown up with such a mentality.

"The first year was almost unreal. I started really well," he said. "People are never happy. If you lose, you are criticized. I you win, you are asked to win more."

Having ended his season a bit earlier than planned, Moser is already back in training as he prepares for the 2014 season that should help him restore his image.

"I started training much earlier than I have done in other seasons," he said. "I am building the basic condition. I am not riding for 8 hours but I accumulate kilometres and before I go riding, I work in the gym."

Moser hasn't announced his race schedule but is once again expected to focus on the Ardennes classics and could make his debut in the Giro d'Italia.