After an outstanding first professional season in 2013, Diego Rosa has marked himself out as one of the most talented Italian climbers but his 2014 season never lived up to expectations. After a difficult year, the Italian is now ready to support Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru at Astana.

Diego Rosa is in search of redemption after a 2014 to forget. Coming off a difficult season that was characterized by crahes in the early races and consequent breaks to rebuild the condition, the future Astana rider reflects on his season in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Right from the beginning, things went wrong," he says. "In 2013, I won the young riders' jersey in the Tour Mediteraneen but in 2014 I crashed in the first stage. I hit my head and had to abandon. Later I crashed in Strade Bianche. I crashed in the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia in Cassino and suffered a deep wound in my knee, an infection and an injury of my tibia. Then I had to take antibiotics and medication against diarrhea and fever. It was a very unfortunate race." 

The end of the season was a bit better, especially Milan-Turin where he was "finally able to ride at easy" but he was too "excited" and attacked "too early", thus missing the opportunity to achieve a better result. The season has now come to an end and Rosa is looking to next season. After a few weeks of rest, he will start a new adventure at Astana where he will be an important domestique for Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru.