"The season has been quite positive, but I'm not 100% happy.” Matteo Trentin is not satisfied. Despite a good 2016 season in which he again confirmed his talent, the Etixx – QuickSte rider, wants more for next season, especially in the classics.

Winner of stages in the Giro d’Italia, the Tour of Wallonia and the Tour de l'Ain, races in which he also battled for the points jersey (two wins and a second place in the Giro), the Italian didn’t get what he wanted in the one-day races which on paper suit him even better. The best result is a fourth place at Paris – Tours where he was defending champion, and at Sparkassen Munsterland Giro. He was also in the top 10 at the Bretagne Classic and Cyclassics Hamburg – he was 9th in both races – and so mainly achieved his classics results in the second half of the year. In the spring he missed something which adds a touch of malice to his season.

"I expected more from the first half of the season,” he admits in an interview with Corriere delle Alpi. “In one-day races, I got less than I had hoped for, sometimes due to the development of the race, sometimes due to my mistakes, other times due to misfortune. At Harelbeke I was three meters from Sagan and Kwiatkowski in the decisive moment of the race and, if I had joined them, I would have finished third. Instead I was ‘millionth’. At the Amstel Gold Race, on the other hand, I had a mechanical when we were down to fifty in the front group and I was really good. Winning is always difficult, but I could really have achieved more.”

Despite being aware of the level of his rivals like Peter Sagan and Fabian Cancellara who were above everyone else "in the spring", Trentin wanted better results: "Even a third place or another place of honour would not hurt."

On the other hand, 2016 again showed his ability to maintain a good condition all year. He proved that he is useful as domestique but also able to chase personal results.

"Every year I feel I can go harder, but that also applies to others, not just to me,” he added. “i'm gradually improving and in 2017 I want something more than I got from the year that has just ended. I want to get to my highest level and stay there.”

For the moment, however, Trentin recovers in order to "clear the mind”. His schedule is still uncertain even though "the first part of the season will presumably focus on the Classics” but now is the time to relax and think about life away from cycling. He is also thinking about his contract which ends in 2017. "That is one more reason to go fast. I know I can do more,” he concluded.