Tom-Jelte Slagter made a huge impression this spring, winning two stages at the Paris-Nice and probably losing the race overall to Carlos Betancur (Ag2r-La Mondiale) only due to badly timed mechanical on a brutal ascent to Fayence. However, just like his Colombian rival, the 25-year old Dutchman failed to continue in the same line in the latter part of 2014 season and thus openly admitted to be displeased with his performances throughout last nine months.

“This time I cannot speak of a successful year,” Slagter told De Telegraaf.  “Satisfied? No, man. It’s only possible when I’m in contention in all biggest races of the season and it hasn’t happened.”

Slagter appeared to be especially disappointed with his Tour de France performance, where he was given a free hand to chase his own successes after Garmin-Sharp leader Andrew Talansky had made his highly dramatic exit.

“I went there to find out whether it’s really entirely different from other stage races, as everyone had told me in advance. Well, that’s not the case. After finishing two Grand Tours I was aware what kind of efforts a three-week event requires, how heavy some stages could be and how to recover between them. It was exactly the same in the Tour.”

“What I have noticed, though, it that it’s more difficult to achieve stage success in the Tour. It came to light especially when I wasn’t strong enough to finish off a work made by my team,” Slagter recalled.

Slagter will line up at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec and Montreal this weekend.