Thibaut Pinot has decided to escape the French rain and will go to the Canary Islands to prepare for Tirreno-Adriatico.

Pinot wants to be at a good level in Tirreno, a race that allows him to compare himself with Alberto Contador, Chris Froome, Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana. To reach that goal, he will train in Las Palmas, "by the sea" without going to Mount Teide as he explains to L'Equipe. He will be joined by teammates Jeremy Roy, Cedric Pineay and Steve Morabito. "A little break this week. Then I will go to Gran Canaria to prepare for Tirreno-Adriatico," he confirmed via Twitter.

Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise (73rd), Etoile de Bessèges (13th) and Tour of Oman (35th) were his first three races of the season. On the Green Mountain, he was fifth behind Rafael Valls, Tejay van Garderen, Alejandro Valverde and Rafal Majka.

After Tirreno-Adriatico, he plans to do Classica Corsica, Critérium International, Tour of the Basque Country, Fleche Wallonne and the Tour de Romandie. He considers two paths to the Tour de Farnce: one with Boucles de Mayenne and Tour de Suisse or one with the Critérium Dauphiné and Route du Sud.

The French climber, 24, aims high in the Tour de France after his third place last year.