The next year will be his last season in the pro peloton. Interviewed by Cyclingnews, Alberto Contador explained he would like to retire at the highest level. The Tinkoff-Saxo leader wants to do a great 2016 season. Winning the Tour de France will be his main goal.

"I have always wanted to retire at the highest level – that's the way I want people to remember me," the Spaniard told. "The primary objective is the Tour de France. I'm a rider who likes to be competitive in every race I enter – I want to do well in the races at the start of the year – but the focus will be purely on the Tour. The only thing I can guarantee is that I'm preparing for it 100 per cent."

He has already studied his program for the next year. He will be back in the peloton in February. "I'm planning a, let's say, traditional calenda. I will for certain start competing in the third week of February at either the Volta ao Algarve or the Vuelta a Andalucía."

"Then I'll do a race that will probably be the most important for me, and that's either Tirreno-Adriatico or Paris-Nice. That will be crucial in giving me a base. Then I'll do another one, shortly after, likely to be Catalunya. Then I will start to really focus; I'll do the Dauphiné, and then the Tour. That's more or less the plan."

About his rivals, El Pistolero told that Chris Froome (Team Sky) is beatable. "I thought he was strong at the Tour, especially the stage to La Pierre Saint Martin – he was incredible. However, it surprised me that towards the end he had some bad days. It made me think back to the Tour of 2013 that he also won. The final days there were also not so great for him. These are interesting things to look at."