With eleven top ten results, Rüdiger Selig (Katusha) showed his speed in the 2015 season. "That made me happy but when you are a sprinter, you are not really pleased if you miss out on the win,” he told radsport-news.com.

With a second place in a stage of the Bayern Rundfahrt (2.HC) and a third place in a stage of the Volta ao Algarve (2.1), the German was close twice. Selig finally stood on the top step of the podium at the Tour of Austria, where he won the opening time trial with his Katusha team and got the yellow jersey as the was the first rider to cross the line.

"The second place in Bavaria and the yellow jersey in Austria are good memories," said Selig who lost the yellow jersey in Austria prematurely when he crashed in the second stage.

The classics were disappointing for the 26-year-old. "Especially Paris-Roubaix was a bad experience becayse of crashes and bad luck," Selig said. The best result of the classics season was a 73rd place in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

In his last race of the year, Selig added another two top 10 finishes in the Tour de l'Eurométropole (2.1). The race at the French-Belgian border was also his last race in the Katusha jersey as he will leave the Russian WorldTour team after four years and continue his career at Bora-Argon 18.

"I am hope that we will bond into a team and have a lot of success,” he said about his his new role. "We want to show that the hope for German cycling is not unjustified. We have a lot of talent and work hard for the credibility of our sport. We only want to be recognized for our effort.”

Personally, he wants to make a contribution as he wants to win again – his last victory was in March 2013 when he won the Limburg Classic. "I am more motivated than ever before,” Selig announced.