Chris Froome has set his sights on a title defence in the Tour de France and is now carefully planning the race schedule that will allow him to line up for the start in Leeds in peak condition. The Brit confirms that he will once again start his season in the Tour of Oman and considers riding the Milan-Sanremo and Volta a Catalunya in March.

Chris Froome had an outstanding 2013 when he won almost every stage race he entered, culminating with his victory in the Tour de France this summer. Next year he plans to repeat his success and will once again make the Tour de France the centrepiece of his season.

Earlier he stated that his race schedule would be more or less the same as this year but he now tells L'Equipe that he is considering a few chances that will allow him to do races which he skipped in 2013. This year he kicked off his season by winning the Tour of Oman and finished 2nd in his first European outing in Tirreno-Adriatico. He went on to win the Criterium International, rode Liege-Bastogne-Liege and finished his spring season with a win in the Tour de Romandie. He won the Criterium du Dauphiné in the build-up to the Tour.

Earlier this month he told Gazzetta dello Sport, that he would have less pressure to win next year but that he would do more or less the same races.

"My 2014 season will be more or less the same as this year. But with less stress," he said at the time. "This year it was important to get to the Tour after having won some races and gained experience on to handle all the extra responsibilities like the podium and interviews. I don't need to do that next year."

In today's interview with L'Equipe, he confirms that he will once again open his season in Oman but that he may decide to discover new races in March. In particular, the longest classic of the season, Milan-Sanremo, has caught his attention as the new inclusion of a climb in the finale is likely to turn it more into a race for puncheurs and climbers than for sprinters.

"I will not change much," he said. "Certainly, I will begin in the Tour of Oman. Then there's a chance that I will ride Milan-San Remo. They have added a climb at the end so it will be a good test for the legs. The Critérium International will not be as important this year as there is no need to check out Corsica so maybe it's an opportunity to do the Volta a Catalunya."

An assault on the Milan-Sanremo would be in line with his late-season focus in 2013 where he targeted the world championships and planned to race Il Lombardia before forfeiting his participation due to back problems. While a rin in the Italian classic may be difficult to achieve, he will stand a very good chance in the Volta a Catalunya which is usually a very hilly stage race which was this year won by Daniel Martin.

Froome had 62 days of racing in 2013, much less than riders like Vincenzo Nibali, Joaquim Rodriguez and Alejandro Valverde.