According to a report by Spanish website BiciCiclismo, Alberto Contador will have a classic 2016 season calendar with the Tour de France as the major objective and a novelty of the Olympic Games.

His schedule is as follows: Volta ao Algarve (February 17-21), Paris-Nice (March 6-13), Volta a Catalunya (March 21-27), Tour of the Basque Country (April 4-9), Criterium du Dauphine (June 5-12), Tour de France (July 2-24) and the Olympic Games (August 6 and 10). In Rio, he hopes to do both the road race and time trial provided that he is selected.

The Tinoff captain who turns 33 in December, returns to his roots in Algarve which was his starting point in 2009, 2010 - he won both editions and went on to win the Tour de France - 2011 and 2014 - when he was second - after experimenting with the Tour de San Luis in 2012 and 2013 and with the Vuelta a Andalucia in 2015. The Portuguese race includes two summit finishes, including the traditional one on the Alto do Malhao, and a time trial.

He will then do three classic WorldTour stage races: Paris-Nice, Catalunya and the Basque Country. In the Race to the Sun, he will make his return for the first time since 2010 when he won the race like he did in 2007. In the last three years, he has opted for Tirreno-Adriatico which he won in 2014. For the third consecutive year, he will be in Catalunya, a race he won in 2011 even though he was later disqualified, and he was second in 2014 and fourth in 2015. The race includes summit finishes in La Molina and Port Aine. He will not miss the Basque race either after winning the 2008, 2009 and 2014 editions. It marks the end of the first part of his season.

He will take a two-month break from racing and then return in the Dauphiné which has always been his preferred preparation for the Tour de France. He has never won the race but was second in 2010 and 2014 behind Brajkovic and Talansky, respectively, and third in 2009. The goal is to win in Paris again like he did in 2007 and 2009 - he has been stripped of his 2010 title. He was fourth in 2013, fifth in 2015 and abandoned in 2014.

A novelty for Contador and for all the big stage race riders like Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana will be the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The Spaniard will not only do the road race as he also hopes to get selected for the time trial.

It remains to be decided whether Contador will also do the Vuelta a Espana.

"It's a classic calendar," Contador said. "Almost certainly I will start in the Tour of Algarve, this year I will return to Paris-Nice and follow with Volta a Catalunya and the Tour of the Basque Country. There I will initiate a period of rest to return then at the Dauphine Criterium and Tour de France."

Contador also reiterated that 2016 "may be my last season, unless I will suffer a mishap in the Tour de France". If that happens, he said his
first choice is "to talk with my team, Tinkoff, to continue for another year. If that were not possible, it woul also be a very attractive option to
pursue a personal project if we get a sponsor to get a professional team with my Foundation, which would continue the work we are doing with young riders," he concluded.

In 2015, Contador finished the season with 65 days of competition: a 2nd place + 1 stage win at the Vuelta a Andalucia, a 5th place in Tirreno-Adriatico, a 4th place in Volta a Catalunya, a win in the Giro d'Italia, a win and a stage victory at the Route du Sud and a 5th place at the Tour de France.