The 60th edition of the Vuelta Ciclista a Andalucia marked the beginning of the ninth year for Daniel Navarro, currently riding for Pro Continental Cofidis, in the professional peloton as the Spanish rider kicks off his 2014 season in the five-day event.

Navarro, whose 2013 season came to an premature end following the crash in the Vuelta a Burgos last September, is eager to perform strongly from the very beginning after spending many months out of competition.

The 30-year old Spaniard has achieved highly respectable results last season, only to mention a victory in Vuelta Ciclista a Murcia, finishing 9th in the general classification of the Tour the France, 5th it the Criterium du Dauphine or 12th in Paris-Nice.

Navarro also performed strongly in the Vuelta a Andalucia last year, where he finished 10th overall, 28 seconds behind the two time winner Alejandro Valverde, but this season he aims to use the Andalusian race to gradually ride himself into a form after having spent many consecutive months out of competition.

Cofidis leader also claims it would be extremely hard to improve on his result from last year considering the star-studded line up, spearheaded by Alejandro Valverde and Richie Porte, apparently reasonably regarded the main contenders for the final crown by the Spaniard.

"This year will be very difficult to improve on past results," Navarro said while training in Andalusia yesterday

“As figures like Valverde or Riche Porte, who also brings a very strong team with all their guns blazing, are told to compete in the event, and I’ve been out of competition since Burgos I’m going to struggle from the pace a lot, but hey, I’m going to treat it as a preparation and I’ll try to catch the pace for following races which would be more important to me, like Paris-Nice and especially Volta a Catalunya. I expect myself to find right rhythm and ride better by then.”