Vincenzo Nibali prepares himself to go up against Chris Froome in next year's Tour de France where the Italian hopes to win the only grand tour that he has not yet conquered. Admitting that his British rival is a spectacular athlete, he claims that the below-par performance by Alberto Contador in the 2013 Tour made Froome look stronger than he actually was.

Vincenzo Nibali and Chris Froome both took hugely convincing wins in grand tours in 2013. While the former dominated the Giro d'Italia, the latter was in a class of his own when he won the Tour de France in July.

Next season the two grand tour specialists are set to clash in the Tour de France. While Froome has made it clear that he intends to defend his title, Nibali has set his sights on a win in the only three-week race he has now yet conquered.

Nibali and Froome have raced against each other several times in the past. In the 2012 Tour, they both finished on the podium when Froome finished 2nd while working for team leader and winner Bradley Wiggins and Nibali was the Sky duo's nearest rival. In 2013, Froome beat Nibali in the Tour of Oman while the roles were reversed in the Tirreno-Adriatico.

In the Italian stage race, Froome appeared to have locked up the win when he won the queen stage on the Prato di Tivo climb. However, he cracked two days later on the epic penultimate stage when Nibali on one of the many steep walls that were spread throughout the course on the rainy day in Italy.

In the Tour, Froome became famous for his stinging attacks that were launched in a very low gear and at a high cadence. Nibali is more of a diesel engine that wears down the opposition and so they have different riding styles.

Having been up against his main rival, several times in the past, Nibali admits that he faces fierce opposition but he also thinks that the below-par performance of Alberto Contador in the Tour made Froome look stronger than he was.

"We have seen it [Froome's attacks] a lot more in the Tour de France but it was also his way of riding in the Tour of Oman and the Tirreno-Adriatico where he gained 20 seconds on me," Nibali told Spaziociclismo in a lengthy interview. "I have noticed several things about how to ride against Chris Froome. I have the opinion that Contador was not his usual self in the Tour and so Froome's level appeared to be even higher than it was. In the 2012 Tour, he was already very strong when he pulled away and I think it is emblematic. In my opinion, he has especially improved in the time trial. To get close to a rider like Tony Martin shows his progress."

The Giro is still a possibility

Nibali has been under much pressure from the Italian media who would like him to defend his title in the Giro d'Italia. Earlier this week, he effectively ruled out his participation and team manager Giuseppe Martinelli drew up a tentative schedule that did not include the Italian grand tour.

Asked by Spaziociclismo, he refused to rule out his participation but seemed more intent on focusing on the classics in the early part of the season.

"For several months I have said that the season is focused on the Tour de France," he said. "I don't know anything about the Giro d'Italia yet. We will see along the way but it is very difficult because there is very little time to rest between the two races. If I should do the Giro, the problem would be the classics and I would have to skip the entire first half of the season, including the classics. One must know how to set his goals."

While the main objective is the Tour de France, Nibali has divided his season into three parts and is firmly focused on the first one at the moment.

"We have not talked about the end of the season yet," he said. "We have focused on the first part and then I will start to work on the second part which includes the Tour and then on the third. 2014 is different than other years because we focus on three parts instead of the usual two. It will be important to focus on the first block with the classics and then find out which races I will do to prepare for the Tour. You could do the Giro, rest in the mountains and aim for the Tour or you could do the Giro just to focus on specific stages. To do both races at the highest level is very difficult and the risk is too high."

While Nibali is cautious when it comes to the Giro, he is clearly dreaming of his first big classics win. He got close in the 2012 Milan-Sanremo and Liege-Bastogne-Liege where he was 3rd and 2nd respectively, and made a gutsy solo attack in the 2011 Il Lombardia that almost brought him the win.

With the addition of the Pompeiana climb in between the Cipressa and the Poggio, the balance in Sanremo should be tipped away from the sprinters and Martinelli has made it clear that the Italian classic is a real target for Astana in 2014.

"I should do Milan-Sanremo, Amstel Gold Race, Fleche Wallonne and Liege-Bastogne-Liege," Nibali said. "They will be the most important races although I still don't know with certainty if I will do Amstel because of my training camps."

Nibali admitted that he still hadn't seen the Pompeiana climb but will do it before the March classic kicks off. He refused that the course had been changed to increase his chances to win on home soil.

"It would be more correct to say that have included it to give more room to less fast riders," he said. "Many say that the course has become harder but on the other hand they have removed Le Manie which was a really tough one."

With the inclusion of cobblestones on the Tour route, Nibali has been rumoured to be lining up in the Tour of Flanders to prepare for the paves. While he admitted that his reputation as a technically strong rider could make their inclusion an advantage for him, he refused to commit himself to the Flemish classic yet.

"We have talked about it but we'll see," he said. "It is not in my program because it can't be fit into my schedule of training camps. However, my plan can be changed and is no very precise as we will set our goals depending on how I feel. For example, we still don't know whether I will return to the Tirreno-Adriatico or do the Paris-Nice next year."

The latter statement contradicts Martinelli's earlier claims that Nibali will do the French race. Similarly, Nibali claimed that he still hasn't decided whether he will do the Tour of Oman or the Dubai Tour in February despite Martinelli stating that the Omani race was his preferred choice.

Time trial improvement needed

In 2012, Nibali lost much time to Froome in the time trials. Next year, there will only be one race against the clock in the Tour but the Astana leader still needs to improve in the discipline if he wants to realistically challenge the defending champion.

"At the training camp in Calpe [in January] I will start working with my trainer Slongo with whom I have a great feeling," he said. "Furthermore, there is the talk about the time trials which I cannot neglect. I need to improve. In Calpe, there is a track and I will work there. Later I will go to the wind tunnel. I think that my climbing level is already very high and I think that I am unlikely to improve. At last year's Giro d'Italia I was strong on the climb after having prepared well and I was super competitive. My only weakness is the time trial."

Nibali will start his season in the Tour de San Luis in January.