After a strong debut season, BMC’s German youngster Rick Zabel is ready for bigger and better things in 2015.

“This year, I would like to do the bigger classics like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Another big thing for me would be if I could do my first Grand Tour,” Zabel told Cyclingnews. “For sure I will not do the Tour de France, I think that this is quite clear. There’s still the Giro and the Vuelta left. The Giro and the Vuelta are both hard but I don’t care too much about the parcours, I just want to go there to do my best and to finish a Grand Tour if it is possible.”

He rode a lot on he cobbles of Belgium last year, where he says he suffered a lot but learned valuable lessons on how to race there, which he hopes will serve him well for the future.

“I had to suffer a lot. For sure, to ride with the pros is really hard but I think it was also a good experience and I hope that next time I can do better and step by step become a better classics rider,” Zabel said. “If I can become a good classics rider, I don’t know. It’s a dream for me to get big results at races like Flanders or Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix.”

He spoke about the help that was given to him by the experienced riders on the team in 2014, like Philippe Gilbert, Samuel Sanchez, Greg van Avermaet and Cadel Evans.

“In our team we have a lot of experience… If you’re riding with such big riders in the team you look at what they are doing and I also have to say that they gave me a lot of advice. They were really friendly always and gave me good advice so it is of course special. If you get good advice from such a big rider you listen and you try to follow it.”

He is hoping to make his Worlds debut this season in Richmond, Virginia, and the 21-year-old German says the course suits him and he is more than happy to work for John Degenkolb.

“In Richmond the course suits me quite well. For me I have it in my hands to be at the World Championships,” said Zabel. “Last year, I was at the Tour of Britain two weeks before the start of the World Championships and I was in great shape. I think I could have helped him (John Degenkolb) if I had been on the start, but maybe I was too young. This year it would be great after my second season to do the World Championships.”