In 2015, Vincenzo Nibali will probably skip the Giro d'Italia. The Italian wants to focus solely on a second victory in the Tour de France. "The team wants Aru to ride the Giro and I ride the Tour," he tells Cyclingnews.

The Giro d'Italia organizers and many Italian cycling fans have made it clear that they would like to see Vincenzo Nibali return to his home grand tour in 2015. He won the race in 2013 but didn't defend his title in 2014.

In consultation with his team, Nibali has made the decision to skip the race:

"I honestly don't think I'll do the Giro d'Italia," he told Cyclingnews in an interview. "I said I'd do the Giro if I have to, but if I ride it, I want to ride it to win it. At Astana we've also got Fabio Aru, who is more suited to the Giro d'Italia than the Tour de France. And so if I ride the Giro, I'd overshadow him. So the team wants Aru to ride the Giro and I ride the Tour. I understand that choice.

"Of course I want to return to the Giro and want to try to win it again because I'm Italian and love the Giro. I didn't ride the Giro after I won it in 2013 but I know that I'll go back to try to win it again in the years to come."

Earlier Nibali hinted that he would like to do the Giro-Tour double but refused Oleg Tinkov's idea of doing all three grand tours. However, it seems that his team has made the final decision.

"He has a say but so do the people above him, the sponsors in Kazakhstan," he said when asked about Alexander Vinokourov's role in the decision. "Vino is the team manager but just like Dave Brailsford at Team Sky or like Roberto Amadio was at Cannondale and Liquigas, the manager decides things with the sponsors and the team owners.

"Cycling isn't like it used to be, where it was the riders who called the shots and decided things. Those days are over. It's the same for everyone who is an employee of a company, who is paid for a specific role in a team or company. The sponsors want the big riders in the big races and want us to try to win them. From that point of view, if I ride the Giro to try and win it, it would perhaps damage my chances of winning the Tour de France for a second time."

Nibali also made it clear that the courses has played a big role in his final decision.

"The routes are a factor," he said. "There's a 60km time trial at the Giro d'Italia. I think it's a crazy decision but I suppose it depends if it's a difficult time trial. If it's tough like the one in last year's Giro, then it suits me. But if it's flat and fast like in the 2012 Tour de France, then a time trial specialist could gain three minutes and that's enough time to win a Grand Tour these days. "

I like the route of the Tour de France because its similar to this year's route but with even less time trialling. I couldn't have asked for much more and the route was perhaps the final factor on deciding my goals for 2015 and again targeting the Tour de France."