Chris Froome has confirmed that the Tour de France will be his "main focus" for next season after he abandoned this year's edition of the race. “It’s a climbers' Tour next year so I’m going to have to work extra hard in the mountains and spend less time on practicing time trialling," he told TeamSky.com. Winner of the French race in 2013 and second in 2012, the Sky leader will try to reach July in peak condition. The Vuelta a Andalucia will be his first race of the year.

 

When the course for the Tour de France was presented and it was confirmed that the amount of time trialling had been reduced to just 14km on the opening day and a team time trial at the end of the first week, Chris Froome expressed doubt about his participation in the Tour de France and indicated that he was likely to focus on the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana. Now he confirms that he will indeed be at the start in Utrecht on July 4.

 

 

The 2013 Tour de France champion is riding his first kilometres in South Africa.

 

“I've enjoyed my time off, and now I am concentrating on preparing myself mentally and physically for the season ahead," he told TeamSky.com. “I’ve started training in the warm weather in South Africa where I have been able to get some decent miles in on the bike.”

 

According to the team website, Froome has started to draw out his calendar for the season and his first race is likely to be Vuelta a Andalucía-Ruta del Sol (February 18-22).

 

“Of course, together with the team, we’ve had to prioritise some events over others, but the Tour will remain my main focus for 2015,” he added. “The concept of doing all three Grand Tours in a season has got appeal but having said that, I know how hard it is to do two Grand Tours while targeting the overall win. At this point in my career I feel that the Tour takes priority. There may come a time at some point down the line where other races may take preference, but for 2015, it’s the Tour.

 

Froome knows that he faces a very different Tour de France with lots of mountains and 8 summit finishes.

 

“There is no doubt that this Tour de France is going to be a tough test, but I enjoy the challenge and there’s no reason why I would be any worse off than any of the other contenders," he said. "It is our responsibility as a team to adapt accordingly so that we can be as competitive as possible there.

 

“It’s a climbers' Tour next year so I’m going to have to work extra hard in the mountains and spend less time on practicing time trialling. It’s also going to be important to be as light as possible, so our nutrition will play a key role.

 

“There will be new tests for me as an individual, that’s what I’m looking forward to.”