Tall Björn Thurau, son of Dietrich Thurau Didi who created Tour de France euphoria in Germany in 1977, two decades before Jan Ullrich, wants to follow in the footsteps of his father: In July, the 26-year-old is aiming for his first start in the Tour de France.

Since the beginning of the year, Thurau has been riding for the German pro continental team Bora-Argon18. Previously, the lanky German has been riding for Europcar for three years which was a part of the WorldTour in 2014. Thurau had offers from WorldTour teams but decided to step down a level.

"It was finally time for me to play my own card", Thurau told radsport-news.com at the team training camp in Mallorca which ended on Wednesday. "The form is good, I have had a good winter." Immediately after the training camp he and his new teammates will start their season at the Mallorca Challenge.

At his former team, Thurau was mainly a domestique. In the Giro d'Italia, he assisted his French captain Pierre Rolland who finished fourth overall, and rode offensively in several breaks. A few weeks later, Thurau won the mountains jersey at the Tour de Suisse.

In the jersey of Bora-Argon18, Thurau hopes to have a captaincy role in more races. "He can certainly develop himself more with us than with Europcar. He just needs to learn how to dose his raw power," said his team manager Ralph Denk. According to Denk, it will only be a matter of time before Thurau wins his first race.

But Thurau has another big goal - to participate in the Tour de France. "That would be an absolute highlight," he said. The chances that he will be in Utrecht on July 4, are not bad. Like last year, the German team has received one of the coveted wildcards. "Björn is definitely a candidate for the tour squad," Denk revealed.

The name Thurau is still famous in France. Father Dietrich, known for his elegant riding style, won six Tour stages, wore the yellow jersey for 15 days and finished fifth in 1977. However, Björn Thurau does not always have his father at his side. "My coach Dennis Sand takes good care of me. But now and then, my father of course has a tip for me, "said Thurau.

"Unfortunately, he does not always listen to me," said senior Thurau on the occasion of his 60th birthday last fall. As a coach and consultant, the former professional is more focused on his younger son Urs (19) who is trying to make a career in tennis.