Mikel Landa has begun the physical work on the bike and has already been training in the mountains around his home town of Murgia, riding through the snow on the slopes of Monte Gorbea to reach the summit 1,481m above sea level.

Alongside these mountain rodes, Landa also focuses on pool sessions and work in the gym before the real training starts in December.

As previously reported, Landa already has a plan for first races in a first part of the season that will lead up to his "big goal" which is to shine at the Giro d’Italia. He will have a calendar "more or less similar to other years,” he tells Marca.

Landa still in doubt about his debut and it could be both "the Tours of Andalusia and Valencia," but he has already decided to line up at "Tirreno Adriatico, Volta a Catalunya and Giro del Trentino" that will used to prepare for the Giro d'Italia where he hopes to go for the maglia rosa, something that a health problem destroyed last season.

With these first races in place, he has decided to skip the Tour of the Basque Country and will not ride in front of his home fans who have seen him take stage wins two years in a row.

Landa now faces several months of winter training in in which he will try to protect his health to avoid starting the season with frights as has happened in the last two years when he suffered various health problems that have delayed his race debut.