Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEDGE) rests in Andorra after his formidable end to the 2015 season where he was fifth in the Vuelta a Espana after winning two stages and wearing the leader's red jersey, eighth in Il Lombardia and winner of the Abu Dhabi Tour .The Colombian is on holiday in Andorra and will not return to Colombia until the first week of December and has taken the time to take stock of the season and look ahead to the next, with the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espan on the horizon.

Chaves confirmed that the initial plan is the Giro and the Vuelta like in 2015 and so backed up suggestions from his sports director Matt White. "We have a little idea of ​​what the year will look like. He wants me to do the Giro and the Vuelta and to do the Tour with the Yates brothers. That’s the overall plan. The goal is to do two grand tours and be able to go for both. That would be ideal. The program will be confirmed at the first training camp in Spain in January," he told Biciciclismo.

Chaves likes the 2016 edition of the Giro.

"I like the course a lot, especially because there are not many transfers. Yes, we will start in the Netherlands and travel to southern Italy but then there isn’t much more. The Giro has accustomed us to very tough stages, with much accumulated climbing. And I find it interesting that it has stages above 2,500 meters in May, so it will be hard with the cold and snow. The time trial in Toscana is 40 kilometers but has a little flat and I imagine that I will be doing well," he said. This year he almost touched the pink jersey in the first stages and finished 55th. “That gave me a motivation to train and reap the fruits" in the Spanish grand tour.

Chaves has demonstrated his progress in the time trial in the Burgos TT at the Vuelta where he was 20th, 2:43 behind Tom Dumoulin, 1:35 behind Alejandro Valverde and 1:10 behind Nairo Quintana. 

"Yes I've progressed. It is the discipline in which I have struggled the most to improve, but the Australians have found a very good way to work and we are seeing progress. We will continue that line. It's fundamental. You do 200 kilometers and arrive with the same time or with 10-second gaps and then you do 40 or 30 against the clock and lose 3-4 minutes. That cannot be like that," said Orica-GreenEDGE climber.

He will repeat the double, meaning that the Tour de France is not on his radar yet. 

"If things continue like this, I will make my debut in the following year, in 2017. It would mean a debut at 27 years of age. There's time. It is true that my sporting progression is a little behind because of my year off [due to a bad injury]. We go step by step. I don’t think you can go to the Tour to learn. You have to be ready," he said.

Chaves is now resting after riding the Giro and Vuelta and having done 74 days of competition.

"When you have to work hard, it can even be hard to rest (laughs). I’m in Andorra and I'm not going back to Colombia until the first week of December. Andorra is fine, it is a very quiet place to relax. It has many routes for walking and Svein (Tuft), Gerrans, Verona are here. I take this opportunity to get to know the country. And to train during the season it is perfect," he said.

It is also time to assess his improvement in the Vuelta. His aim was to stay consistent for three weeks and place among the top ten. He finished fifth, won two stages and led the race. This result was no fluke. 

"I enjoyed it at the time and now I'm with my feet on the ground. It was not a fifth place that just turned up. It came because I struggled and worked.  We have worked and the team believed in me and I believedin them. If we achieved this, we can achieve a lot, so we will continue with the same effort and dedication that I have had since I started with this team last year," he stressed.

He explains the secret of his success in the Vuelta. 

"I trained at altitude in Colombia. I was at 2,600 meters above sea level and had climbs at 3,500m. I could make up to 200 kilometers at that point. That is formidable and is a major advantage. Nairo (Quintana) and Rigoberto (Uran) almost always achieve their best results when they go back to work in Colombia," he said.

Chaves put the icing on the cake with his victory in the Abu Dhabi Tour where he won the queen stage ahead of the favorites Aru and Nibali. 

"To end the year with a win is fine because it gives you confidence and a good memory throughout the winter," he said. And he still regrets not having achieved a better result in Il Lombardia. "My early career was in Bergamo and it is a special race for me. To finish eighth is fine, but having finished eighth with the legs I that had that day leaves a bad taste,” lamented the Colombian who was taken out by cramps in the finale.