In 2014, Marcel Sieberg played his usual key role as a lead-out man for André Greipel. Having enjoyed five weeks of rest, the German is back on his bike and has started his preparations for the 2015 season.

The 2014 cycling season only came to an end two weeks ago or one's already thinking of next year. Last week Marcel Sieberg got back on the bike to gradually build up for 2015. The German rode his last race on 3rd of October, but already had a break of two weeks before that. He talks about how the off-season looks like for him.

"In total I had a five-week break," he said. "In between I rode the Münsterland Giro on 3rd of October. Normally I take a break of four weeks in the off-season. This year that was one week more, but compared to other years I've started the trainings on an earlier date.

"During these weeks off, my family and I moved house, so it was a stressful period. There were still things that needed to be done in the house. Normally I go on a holiday in October, but that wasn't the case this year because of the move. Also, our daughter is only a few months old, so we decided to stay home. During this off-season in enjoy spending time with my wife and daughter. I do normal things, that I can't do often during the season, like visiting family.

"The past few weeks I left my bike aside, but since a few days I've started training again. In autumn and winter I also like to ride the mountain bike in the weekends. I'm gradually building up towards next year. I do rides of two to three hours to start slowly. When it rains, I skip a ride. I still have plenty of time to get in shape. In November and December, I will train on the rollers when it rains.

"The distances of my training rides now depend on how I'm feeling. The next two months that will be more consistent and I'll do power training as well. I will also take up core stability training then, which I do on a rest day for example. It's nice to be back on the bike. At the beginning of the break you're happy of course, but after a few weeks you want to start again."