With wins in the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a Espana already on his palmares, Vincenzo Nibali is ready to focus fully on the victory in the only grand tour he hasn't won: the Tour de France. After finishing 3rd in 2012, the Italian thinks that he can improve that result but knows that Chris Froome will be a formidable rival.

Among the current professionals, Vincenzo Nibali is only surpassed by Alberto Contador when it comes to victories in grand tours. With wins in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana in his pocket, he has won the same number of three-week stage races as his former mentor Ivan Basso and has now set his sights on a race that his fellow Italian has never conquered: the Tour de France.

Nibali last tried to win the French grand tour in 2012 but was beaten into 3rd by the formidable Sky duo of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome. Since stepping down from the podium in Paris, he has, however, upped his game significantly and his dominant win in the Giro d'Italia proves that he can realistically target the top step in the world's biggest bike race.

That win has allowed Nibali to face the new season with increased confidence and he is convinced that he can improve his result from 2013.

"My third place in the Tour was a great, considering things like teams, experience, travels," he told Biciciclimo. "The experience in the Tour was a little like the Giro d'Italia. A third place was a great achievement in a race with two long time trials and with Wiggins and Froome who are both great specialists, it was difficult to do any better. If the condition is good, I can probably improve."

Nibali has made steady progress since his 19th place in his first grand tour in the 2007 Giro. He first cracked the top 10 when he was 6th in the 2009 Tour and one year later he was on the Giro podium when he finished 3rd despite working for eventual winner Basso. Later that year he fully confirmed his potential by winning the Vuelta.

In 2011 he was 2nd behind Michele Scarponi in the Giro and had his only small dip in performance at the Vuelta where he finished a disappointing 7th in the race won by Juan Jose Cobo. That was followed by his 3rd place in the 2012 Tour and his two magnificent performance in two of this year's grand tours.

"From my first big win in 2010 in the Vuelta a Espana, I have confirmed my results continuously," he said. "I have more experience and this makes me think that I can improve in the future. We will see.

"Is it a failure if I don't win? It depends on whether I have given up. I plan to arrive at the start in great condition."

Nibali will be up against Chris Froome who has emerged as the world's best stage racer by winning several races in 2013. "In the last two years he has clearly demonstrated that he is a quality stage racer," Nibali says, admitting that he faces tough opposition.

However, he is confident that his team will be strong enough to support him against the mighty Sky machine. Jakob Fuglsang, Michele Scarponi, Andriy Grivko and Tanel Kangert have already been guaranteed a spot on the roster while Lieuwe Westra and Fredrik Kessiakoff are also likely to be part of the Tour squad. With that kind of firepower, the Astana team appears to be maybe even stronger than their British rivals.

"Astana has very strong riders like Fuglsang, Scarponi," he said. "They provide me with security. We have riders who can work both on the flats and in the mountains. We are stronger.

For every Italian, it is a dream to win the Giro d'Italia. It is no secret that Nibali was disappointed not to get the chance to ride the Italian race in 2012 which was part of the reason for his decision to leave Liquigas. To finally fulfil his dream fills him with pride.

"When I was a child I saw great riders in the maglia rosa, I remember Bugno, Chiappucci, Pantani," he said. "To now have realized this dream is beautiful and wonderful."

Nibali may be focused on the Tour de France but he will try to achieve results in the spring as well. The revised course for the Milan-Sanremo makes his home classics the first big objective of the season and he plans to improve on his 2nd place in the 2012 Liege-Bastogne-Liege where he appeared to have locked up the win when he was overtaken by now teammate Maxim Iglinskiy.

Nibali is now attending the Astana training camp in the Spanish city of Calpe where he is working on the foundations for his first race of the season, the Tour de San Luis in January. He has finalized the race

"My schedule has been finalized even though we may change it a bit," he said." The season is divided into two parts. The first part is focused on Amstel, Fleche, Liege and Sanremo. I prefer Liege after my 2nd place in 2012 and it is my great objective in the spring. For me it is a very important race even though I still need to know the final route."

After making his debut in San Luis, Nibali will ride the Tour of Oman, the Paris-Nice and Sanremo. He will then travel to Tenerife for a training camp before returning to Europe for the Ardennes classics and probably the Tour de Romandie. Another training camp in Tenerife will precede the Criterium du Dauphine and he will head back to the island to finalize his preparations for the Tour in the second half of June.

At the moment, Nibali is feted for his Giro win but he knows that he needs to confirm his potential to maintain his status.

"Every year I start from scratch," he said. "At the end of one season, I draw a new line. Of course the goal is to achieve great results in important races like the Tour and the classics. The Tour is far away. I will prepare in a specific way later. It is difficult to win it but we have a great team to achieve the best possible result."