In 2015, Rein Taaramae of Estonia will spend his first ever season away from the Cofidis, after he signed a contract with Astana for next season.

He told PEZ cycling in a recent interview that while there are changes between the two teams, he hasn’t been hit badly by them so far.

“Cofidis raced almost the same races, so they needed to do the same things because otherwise it’s not possible. They make plans for all the races and here (the training camp) and the new bike. The biggest change is that I have noticed here are all the nationalities. It’s different. But the big difference will be in the races; there will be different tactics. In Cofidis there are good riders also, but the tactics are limited. There is always the one option to go in breakaway, but here (at Astana) you can do that, but there are many options in this team. Cofidis were a good team, but very different also.”

He was asked if he knew what his role would be at Astana and what his calendar was. He wasn’t exactly sure about either, but he did give PEZ some details about what his 2015 season will be like.

“I know that if I’m with the leaders I have to work for them and that is my target, not some other races. I only know my first two races, Algarve and Paris-Nice, I’m sure they know already, but I need to ask, at the moment I’m just too lazy and not asking yet, I don’t want to stress about it.”

At 27 years old, Taaramae is coming into his peak years as a cyclist and he hopes to make the most of them. He wants to make the most of this year and prove he deserves to be a WorldTour rider.

“Of course I want to do everything for the team, I want them to be happy with me, but also I dream of taking some victories. I’m on a one-year contract.”

One of the plus sides of riding with Astana is that he can take part in races that he could never previously access with Cofidis, as they are only a Pro Continental team, whereas Astana operate in the WorldTour. Cycling’s highest level.

“I hope that I go everywhere, yes. For example I have never raced in the United States, never raced in Italy, never. So I have a lot of experience in seven years, in the life of cycling I have not been cheated, but Milan-Sanremo, Tirreno, Giro I have never done. Not even some small races. One year they did the Giro and more races in Italy, but I had a different program. They won a stage in 2010, the last time Cofidis were in Italy. They also were there in 2009 and 2008, but I didn’t do those races.”

He knows he will ride a Grand Tour in 2015 with the team, but he isn’t fussy about either, as he has never raced the Giro, has the experience to do the Tour and he says he loves the Vuelta.

“I like the Vuelta very much, but I have never done the Giro before, so Giro or Vuelta interest me more. I’ve done the Tour five times, if I need to go, I go.”