It is no secret that Vincenzo Nibali has made the Tour de France the centrepiece of the 2014 season but more details about his race schedule are now gradually getting released. In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, the Italian states that the Milan-Sanremo will be a clear objective in the early part of his season while he effectively rules out the possibility of defending his Giro d'Italia crown.

Shortly after winning the 2013 Giro d'Italia in dominant fashion, Vincenzo Nibali and his Astana team made it clear what his objective for the 2014 season is: The Italian wants to return to the Tour de France where he finished 3rd in 2012 as he tries to conquer the only grand tour that has so far eluded him.

Being the defending champion, Nibali has, however, been under intense pressure by his home crowd to go back to the Giro in a quest to defend his title. While it has always been unlikely to happen, he gave a glimpse of hope for the Italian fans earlier this week when he opened the door that he may ride the Giro-Tour double.

In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, he now backtracks on those statements and makes it clear that doing the two grand tours in the same season will be too difficult. In fact, nobody has managed to win both three-week races in the same season since the late Marco Pantani made the double in 1998.

“No, they’re too close – the gap between the Giro and Tour is too tight," he told the Italian newspaper. "Maybe you could do it by skipping the classics, but it would be too risky an experiment. We’ll see.”

With the Giro ruled out, there is more room for Nibali to target other races in the spring season and it is another Italian team that has attracted his interest. In 2014, the Milan-Sanremo will have a different course than usual, with the Pompeiana climb being located in between the famous Cipressa and Poggio ascents.

Those changes are likely to tilt the balance away from the sprinters and provide more opportunities for attackers like Nibali. The Giro champion has long dreamt about winning his big home race and got close in 2012 when he arrived at the finish with eventual winner Simon Gerrans and Fabian Cancellara but finished 3rd in the sprint.

“I have to go and see the new climb, the Pompeiana, which could be the ideal springboard,” he said. “Winning Milan-San Remo would be a real boost for the whole team, but I wouldn’t be satisfied just with that. Look at the Worlds: I was coming from a great since, but I still had the desire and the hunger to win.”

After the Milan-Sanremo, Nibali could go back to the Ardennes classics as he tries to finally win the Liege-Bastogne-Liege crown which narrowly escaped him in 2012. Afterwards, an extended period of altitude training is planned and it will be followed by participation in the Criterium du Dauphiné.

“We’re also looking at the possibility of doing two altitude training camps – one before the Dauphiné and one after,” he said about his Tour preparaion.

In 2014, Nibali will be reunited with Paolo Slongo who was his trainer at Liquigas. He expects the change to be a clear advantage.

“He knows the entire course of my development, and there’s mutual understanding between us as people,” he said. “Paolo can also follow us at races as he’s a directeur sportif, and that’s no small thing. It’s not just phone calls and emails, there’s human contact too. He’s a great addition for the whole Astana team.”

Nibali is currently in Montecatini Terme for the first Astana gathering and will participate in the first training camp in Calpe from December 10 to 21. He will start his season in the Tour de San Luis in January and will continue his racing in the new Dubai Tour which is organized by Giro organizers RCS Sport.