A better aerobic base, more kilometres and hours of training during the winter and less racing is the receipt for Vincenzo Nibali in the 2015 season.
 

Paolo Slongo, his trainer at Astana, confirms that Nibali’s approach has changed from last year. In December, he did 2,929 kilometers of training (99 hours) compared with 1,583 (52 hours and 42 minutes) from the previous year - a difference of 1,346 km, mainly because he started earlier (December 2, 2014; December 11, 2013. "And in January he is working welll. The aerobic base is certianly better," Slongo tells La Gazzetta dello Sport .

By contrast, Nibali will race less in 2015: Dubai Tour (February 4-7), Tour of Oman (February 17-22), Strade Bianche (March 7), Tirreno-Adriatico (March 11-17), Amstel Gold Race (April 19), Fleche Wallonne (April 22), Liege-Bastogne-Liege (April 26), Dauphiné (June 7-14) and the Italian Championships (June 27) will give him 31 days of competition before  the Tour, compared to the 45 he accumulated last year. The difference comes from his decision to skip the Tour de San Luus and the Tour de Romandie.

Nibali will still have time for three training camps, two on Mount Teide, March 28-April 11 before the Ardennes, and May 18-June 2 to begin his preparation for the Tour. After the Dauphiné, he will travel to San Pellegrino (June 15-24) to refine his physical shape, with the Nationals being his last test before the French race.

Nibali has made the change even though his preparation last year was enough to take the final victory in the Tour de France. However, he had a difficult start to 2014 which prompted Alexandre Vinokourov to send an email to the entire team, asking for better results. Nibali took his first win in June when he won the National Championships road race.