Having had his 2014 season cut short by several health issues, Robert Gesink is ready for 2015 and plans to have a traditional schedule with a focus on the Ardennes classics and the Tour de France. Furthermore, he considers doing a cobbled classic to prepare for stage 4 of La Grande Boucle.

In 2015, Robert Gesink will start as leader for the Tour de France and will also focus on the spring classics like the Amstel Gold Race and the other races in the Ardennes. Unlike this year, he will not start his season at the Tour Down Under.

This is the first rough schedule for Gesink.

"In the Vuelta, I think I have shown that I can be among the best in a grand tour and that gives me confidence for the Tour de France," he told CyclingOnline at the presentation of his LottoBL-Jumbo team. His 2014 was cut short on several occasions, first by heart surgery which caused him to miss the Tour de France, and later by pregnancy complications for his girlfriend which forced him to leave the Vuelta prematurely.

Gesink still hasn't decided whether his first goal will be Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico and is still undecided about the second half of the season.

"The Vuelta could be an option but normally you decided about it after the Tour. An alternative is to do the Canadian WorldTour races to prepare for the Worlds in Richmond. But that is still far away."

Furthermore, Gesink considers doing a cobbled classic to prepare for the fourth stage of the Tour de France where the peloton will tackle seven pavé sectors.

"It may not be a bad idea to do such a race in the spring to get the right feeling," the 28-year-old told De Telegraaf but he rules out doing Paris-Roubaix. "If Bradley Wiggins can do it, is it also possible for me? No, it seems to be a little bit too heavy but a semi-classic like Dwars door Vlaanderen could be good for me," said the LottoNL-Jumbo rider before underlining that the hilly classics and the Tour de France are his main goals for 2015.