This month Marc Soler will turn 22 but he has already left his mark at the elite level of cycling. The expectations for the talented Spaniard are high, especially after he won the 2015 Tour de l’Avenir with the Spanish national team.

Soler spent the year at the Movistar team and reflects on a solid debut at the highest level.

“I am very satisfied,” he told KEC Sport. “I did not expect such a rapid adaptation to the category as everything was new to me. Above all, I feared the pace and the distance, but I think I've been able to adapt well to the level. I learned a lot, both as a teammate and as a rider, and have helped the team to the maximum in everything I could. I look forward to further progress.”

“What most caught my attention in the category has been the pace at which you ride. It is much faster than in the amateur ranks right from the start of the race. On the other hand, I was impressed to ride alongside great riders whom I was watching on television only a year ago.

“I have especially learned much from the advice of all my teammates, assistants and directors. Sometimes they tell you about small details who important you later realizer when they are applied.”

Unsurprisingly, Soler points to the Tour de l’Avenir as his season highlight.

“Apart from being able to debut in San Luis with the jersey of Movistar, I think the most positive experience was the victory in the Tour de l'Avenir,” he said. “I had raced with the Spanish team before and knew what I was up against. As opposed to this, Movistar was all new and very often I did not know what I had to do.”

The low points were less specific.

“They are any of the races in which I have not had my best feelings and I could not help in the way the team wanted.

“The moments to remember are when you've been working, you get on the bus and they tell you that your teammate has won. A moment to forget is the feeling of frustration when you cannot give your best.”

Soler has now turned his attention to the 2016 season.

“This year's winter will be like last year: gym and bike. During these months of November and December, I also take the opportunity to do mountain biking or cyclo-cross, for a change,” he said. “I hope to take another step, finish my adaptation to the category and move forward.

“I have no hurry to ride any of the three Grand Tours. For now I'll settle for further learning. When the time comes, I'll be happy to go to any of the three, although the Tour de France excites me the most. But there are still a few years until that will happen.”