In 2015, Fabio Aru wants to confirm his climbing skills. However, the 24-year-old wants more than that. The Italian wants to evolve and grow into a more complete rider and knows what the secret is to achieve his objective: to train hard and live like a professional already in the winter season. At the moment, he is working with the Astana team at the training camp in Calpe where he can learn from Vincenzo Nibali but he admits that he admires Alberto Contador.

Fabio Aru was one of the sensations of the 2014 season after he finished third in the Giro d'Italia and fifth in the Vuelta a Espana. In an interview with Biciciclismo at the Astana headquarters in Calpe, he confirmed to Biciciclismo that the Giro will again be his main goal.

"It will not be easy [to repeat these results]," he told the Spanish website. "We are again here in Spain to prepare for the next season and will try to do even better. I train hard, am well-prepared, take care of the details, do the sacrifices and do the training camps like this one in Spain to grow and be able to get results year after year.

"The pressure is always there. More pressure means you can do more. I do not lament it because it means I'm doing well and I have to continue like this to take another step. It pushes me to seek new stimuli to grown for the coming years."

One of Aru's weaknesses is his time trialling skills but he has been working hard to improve.

"For example, improvement in the time trial is very important to me," he said. "So I've been in the Specialized wind tunnel in California. The first goal next year is the Giro which has a 60km time trial and I am focused on working for that challenge. And I do not just look at the stage races. Liege and Lombardy are classics that I like, also San Sebastián. I'm not saying that it will be a big goal this year, but I want to ride these races to gain experience for the future. It is important to be a complete rider, not only a man for the grand tours. This is what I want and I work for it. That's my philosophy: you have to work to achieve your goals. Of course I dream about winning the maglia rosa or another grand tour. I don't know if I will succeed but I will work to try to achieve my goals."

Aru already has a rough idea about his race schedule.

"I will do Paris-Nice, Catalunya, Trentino and Liege," he said. "Before Paris-Nice, I will go at a training camp at altitude. I think that Mount Teide is a very good place to train. I think it is a good preparation for the Giro. Last year I had just done Catalunya and Trentino. Few races but if you train well you can be in good shape for the goals. This year the first days of the Giro are harder than last year and so I need to be a little more prepared. Then it is possible to help Nibali in Tour or go to the Vuelta, but now all my plans are aimed at the Giro. We will see later.

"So these training camps - in January Astana will return to Calpe - are important. We have days when we are one hundred percent focused: we wake up, train, get massage and take a coffee with the teammates. It is an important work for the rest of the season."

Aru admits that he had not expected to reach his current level at such a young age.

"No, I did not ecpect these results," he said. "It was a very good season but I worked hard and prepared the best I could during the winter. And I'm very happy with everything. The podium at the Giro was a dream fulfilled. And that's my intention again this year. I want to confirm what I did in the Giro. It was definitely a good sign. It was important for my growth, to ride with champions like Froome, Contador, Valverde, Purito to see how they move in the race. It was a good sign."

Aru has never done anything to hide that he is admiring Alberto Contador a lot.

"For his riding style because he is a very charismatic leader," he said. "I like him a lot. He has been my idol since I started cycling. So when Contador congratulated me for my victory in the Vuelta, it was a great satisfaction for me."

However, Aru is a teammate of Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali.

"To ride with Vincenzo is great," he said. "He is a great champion who has won all three grand tours, something that only a few riders have managed. What he has done is historic. Me? I have not even won a single one. I am always fighting hard and gives everything. He teaches me the small things that make the difference."