This year Oliver Zaugg proved his value as a great domestique when he helped Alberto Contador win the Vuelta a Espana. The Spanish race was the absolute highlight for the Swiss who also got close to a stage win.

At this year's Vuelta a Espana, Oliver Zaugg was one of the most important domestiques for Alberto Contador on the way to the overall victory. Furthermore, the Swiss who finished a respectavle 23rd in the the ovrall standings, was close to a big coup when he finished second in a mountain stage.

Until a few meters from the finish line in the mountaintop finish at La Camperona, Zaugg led the race but was passed by Canadian Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) in a dramatic finale. But despite the missed opportunity, the climber is very satisfied. "The Vuelta was an absolute highlight with Alberto's overall victory and my second place in a stage," he tells radsport-news.com.

But this was not the only time that the 33-year-old was in the spotlight. In the first part of the Tour of Austria, Zaugg finished second on the Sonntagberg and ended the race in seventh overall. "It was a great week of Oliver who was riding very consistently and with good form. Unfortunately, the flat time trial has cost him a spot on the podium," sports director Tristan Hoffman tells radsport-news.com.

A fourth stage in a stage of the Tour de Luxembourg and a fifth place in a stage of the Tour de Suisse completed the strong performance of the 2011 Il Lombardia winner. "Due to my results and my strong domestique work, my balance is absolutely positive," says the former Gerolsteiner professional who was also the most important domestique at the Tour of Poland for overall winner Rafal Majka.

Zaugg suffered the only major setback at the start of the season when he crashed in the 4th stage of the Tour of Dubai after having hit the windshield of a team car which left him with a broken hand. Only after a break from racing of almost three months, the Tinkoff-Saxo rider could make his comeback in late April at the Tour de Romandie. "But after a successful recovery, I rode very consistently."

In 2015 Zaugg will go into his third season with Tinkoff-Saxo and again he will be an important domestique for Alberto Contador in the mountains. And maybe he will have the chance to make his Tour de France debut. "We will discuss the racing schedule in the next few days," says Zaugg who is currently with his team in Gran Canaria for a training camp.