Joaquim Rodriguez is accustomed to success, great victories and the fight for the most prestigious podiums but 2014 turned out to be a nightmare for the Spaniard. Crashes in the spring, in the Ardennes and in the Giro d'Italia, marred his season and even though he tried to reach his best, he never showed the form that has seen him win the WorldTour several times.

"It was a strange season," he told Biciciclismo. "Perhaps I was out of balance all year. Before the Ardennes, it seemed that everything was going great. Crashes set me back and I never reached the right point. It was not as bright as my previous seasons. Since 2010, things have been going well even though I have lost some very nice races. But I lost on the road while in 2014 I had the crash in Amstel and the Giro. It was not only the case for me but also hit the team, Caruso, Vicioso... Hence, the season felt longer and I had a greater desire to get a break.

"I suffered a lot because I had worked well but saw that it did not pay off. It was very hard but two plus two is not always four. From Amstel, it was a nightmare until I was 100% recovered.  It was hard, very hard. With a cool head, it would probably have been better to take a break after a crash in order to recover and return to zero. Because I won't advise anyone to compete at 60-70-80%. You may not be fit but it is no problem to work to find the right shape. But to work with an injury... The truth is that this perhaps what I did wrong.

"In the Giro I started with broken ribs. We were treating it, especially the scar from the crack, and before the crash in Montecassino the pain was not so great. It was at a time when I had been ​​fourth or fifth in the previous stage, and we were there, the team was united, willing to work. We seemed to be on track.  I am sure that if I had not crashed, I would have done ​​a great Giro d'Italia. But then the disaster of Montecassino happened. Three of use went home. I broke another rib and a finger."

After riding the Tour de France, Rodriguez looked much stronger when he was fourth in San Sebastian and the Vuelta a Espana.

"Since then I recovered. I think San Sebastian was turning point in addressing the remainder of the calendar," he said. "It turned out to be a good race event hough I was not able to stay with Alejandro (Valverde). But at least the feeling was starting to improve. That's what I needed.

"In the Vuelta, I was not at 100%. I did not have the punch in the final kilometre but I must say that I was better. I would love to have been like last year or like in 2012 but I would not have been able to win. I have never seen Contador being that superior."