The Tour de France will be the major goal of Fabio Aru who will make hus debut next season. The Italian had a fantastic year with a win in the Vuelta a Espana and a second place in the Giro d'italia and has now outlined his schedule until the French race.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Aru will "probably" start his season in the the Volta ao Algarve (February 17-22) and then he will spend a month at a training with his Astana team in Calpe but is also looking at alternative option in Sardinia, Tenerife or Gran Canaria. Then he will do Tirreno-Adriatico or Paris-Nice before heading to the Tour of the Basque Country, Fleche-Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, the final race in the first part of the season.

"In the spring I want to be competitive, even in the Tour of the Basque Country, a race that I have not done but which I really like. The classics fascinate me. They don't suit me but Liege is one of mygoals. I want to do it," he says. Plan B is to do the Volta a Catalunya instead of Paris-Nice or Tirreno and then maintain the rest if program.

He will use two training camps to prepare for the Tour de France before doing the Criterium Dauphine. "The Tour de France is the goal of the year, and we have to keep their feet on the ground. Nibali's advice will be fundamental," he says.

The Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero are among his foals as well. "First I must say that each race with the national jersey is special. The Olympic Games are an incredible stimulus. In early January Vincenzo and I will inspect the course," he says.

In 2015 Aru was second in the Giro d'Italia, 1:53 behind Contador, after winning two stages in Cervinia and Sestriere, and in September he won the Vuelta by distancing Tom Dumoulin on the penultimate day. He was also second in Abu Dhabi Tour and the Tour Almaty, third in Milan-Turin, fifth in the Tour of Poland and sixth in the Volta a Catalunya.