Silvan Dillier: “I want to focus on the cobbled Classics”
There were many talented neo-pro’s in 2014 who showed glimpses of their talent and of what they’re capable of doing over the years. One of these cyclists is BMC’s Silvan Dillier, who came at the start of the season with a strong palmares as an U23 rider, that included the Tour de Normandie GC, a Tour de l’Avenir stage, multiple national titles, the Flèche Ardennaise, and a stage win at the inaugural Tour of Alberta, where he raced as a stagiaire for BMC.
Then, during his first season in the pro peloton, the Swiss rider stacked up 62 race days and even though an individual win eluded him, he can say that he has had a very impressive year, with 15 top-ten placings (in stage race, but also in Classics), the icing coming in September, when he was part of the BMC squad that won the Team Time Trial at the World Championships in Ponferrada.
Last week, Silvan Dillier came to BMC’s training camp in Denia, and thanks to Mister Georges Lüchinger, the team’s Chief Communications Officer, I got to interview Silvan on his results in 2014 and plans for the future.
– Silvan, how satisfied are you with your season?
I’m really satisfied with my first year as a pro. There were some new races which I wasn’t scheduled to do, but I’m happy to have been there with the BMC Team.
– Which was the most interesting one?
The Tour of Flanders was really impressive, it was my first Monument, so it was really special. Also, the Tour de Suisse, my home race, was really great, and finally the World Championships TTT was amazing.
– What’s the result you’re the most proud of?
For sure, the World TTT title. It is the biggest success of my career so far. It’s hard to top this, but I will try in the future.
– You raced a lot on the cobbles in 2014. How was this experience?
As an U23 rider I did a couple of cobbled races and I liked them a lot. Now, with the pros this year, it was way better and it was really great to do all these Classics. I like a lot the cobbled stones, even though it’s very hard there. My profile as a rider is more or less made to ride the cobbled Classics and I think I will focus in the future on trying to win one of these races.
– What was the toughest day of your career?
There were a lot of them. In every race you have a difficult moment and it’s always nice when you get through it and afterwards you have success, you personal as a rider or as a team. In moments like this you know you went through all that pain and you have to enjoy that success.
– What would you like to improve next year?
I got a lot of experience during this season and I would like to double up more in the time trial, because it’s a good thing to be strong in the time trials, as it gives you an advantage over other riders.
– Although your race program for 2015 is not finalized yet, you probably have some goals in your mind.
I would like to do again the cobbled Classics and I’ll like to try the Ardennes Classics, although I don’t know if I’ll do them next year. Then I’d like to race a Grand Tour. Which one isn’t decided yet, but a three-week stage race will be in my program.
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