Rick Zabel completed his first monument and grand tour last year. The BMC rider finished Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d'Italia and won a stage in the Tour of Austria. But he wants more. The son of sprinting great Erik Zabel, who started his season in Australia at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, helped his teammate Greg van Avermaet in the Middle East at the Tour of Qatar and the Tour of Oman.

"I’d like to step up as a rider. After two years with BMC, I have a good idea of what the team is like and what the team wants. We have a strong classics team, for sure I want to be a part of this. I want to be a good support for the leaders there and maybe to lead for myself in the next years", he told Velonews. The plan is to start the Ronde van Vlaanderen.

"For me, it’s my goal that I want to show myself. For sure, the team wants to see it, but it’s the goal first for myself. I’m ambitious and I want to get results. I want to help the other guys, but to show the others that I can get results as well. That’s why we race, to win."

He told also about his performance at Paris-Roubaix. "I was nervous. It’s fine to fight for position for one cobble section, but then you have another and another. The race keeps going for 160 kilometers. The more you do, the more you suffer. It’s terrible,î Zabel explained. I’d say one for the classics and those tough stages that end in a sprint. My heart beats faster when we talk about the classics."