In 2014, Giacomo Nizzolo was very close to a stage win in the Giro d'Italia. Next year he will again target his home grand Tour.

In 2014, Giacomo Nizzolo took a huge step forward, especially when he fought with the best in the Giro d’Italia where he finished on the podium five times, finished second in the points classification and was agonizingly close to a stage win.

Due to those results and his many solid performances in the rest of the season (even though he was set back by two injuries), Trek manager Luca Guercilena has made it clear that he expects big things from his sprint in 2015.

"The best time of the year was my victory in Argentina because it was a perfect start," Nizzolo tells Ciclismo Internacional, referring to his stage win in the Tour de San Luis in January. "The worst moment was when I broke my collarbone in February.”

In general, Nizzolo rode well but due to the big focus on the grand tours, his performance in the Corsa Rosa has taken lots of attention. “I am happy with my performance in the Giro,” he said. “I was consistent but it could hae been better if I had managed to win at least one stage. But I am not complaining, I will focus on my consistency.”

“I do not feel obliged to win but I would have liked to take a victory because I was close many times. For a sprinter it is important to win,” he adds and refuses the suggestion that he was overwhelmed by Bouhanni’s power. “In the Giro, I did not think about Bouhanni.”

Clearly, Nizzolo is not a pure sprinter like Marcel Kittel and André Greipel but he would still love to have his own train. “It is perfect if your team makes a good train because you know your teammates and what they will do. It is better than have to follow your rivals. That would be an ideal scenario.”

Nizzolo still thinks that he can improve and is not resting on his laurels.  "I think I can still make progress on the climbs and in the sprints. With age I will gain more strength and experience so I expect to improve in the coming years," he says.

Nizzolo does not try to imitate one of his rivals and is confident in his own abilities: "I do not have a model sprinter to follow. I want to be best based on my own qualities," he says.

Nonetheless, Nizzolo won’t be able to rely on a lead-out train like Kittel, Greipel and Cavendish and riders like Jasper Stuyven and the Van Poppel brothers will often be allowed to take their own opportunities.  "For now the only reinforcement will be Coledan, but in  the team  we have other good riders who can do the job ," he says. This week it was announced that he will also be able to rely on Gert Steegmans in 2015.

Nizzolo is still regretting the mishaps that set him back. “Injuries impacted a big part of my season. I was set back in February and June, “he says but he prefers to look ahead. “I don’t know what I need to take another step but I will train harder than ever before and hope to have a little more luck.”

Perhaps the icing on the cake in his season would have been a selection for the World Championships since he was one of the final riders not to earn a spot. “Having missed out on selection for Ponferrada was not a blow. I respect the decision of the coach (Davide Cassani). Obviously I want to be there next year.

Nizzolo already knows where he will start his 2015 season. “My season will start in the Tour Down Under and the objectives will be Paris Nice, Milan San Remo, Ghent-Wevelgem and the Giro d'Italia. Then why not join the national team for the Worlds?”

Nizzolo has done three grand tours, all in Italy, and in 2015 he may try he hand in one of the other three-week races too. “No decision has been made regarding the Tour and the Vuelta but I think my main objective is the Giro again,” he sayd.

The calendar seems to suit Nizzolo well as the courses for Paris-Nice and the Corsa Rosa should offer plenty of opportunities for a rider with his characteristics. “The 2015 Giro will be harder and I think I will have good chances but not many more than in the past,” he says. “In Paris-Nice, I want to do well in the few sprints there.”

Finally, he admits that he may not be ready to challenge for the win in Milan-Sanremo. “In Sanremo, I will do my best but I think it is still too much for me.”