Nairo Quintana wants to become the first Colombian to win the Tour de France. The Movistar leader, who started his season at the Tour de San Luis, has finished on the podium twic . This year he will prepare twith perfection.

"My way of training has been good. You saw that the time I lost last year was because of an error or bad luck, not because of a lack of form. So I think the preparation is good. What I do want to plan is the type of races to be able to reach the Tour not so saturated with racing, but with good training", he told Cyclingnews.

At the Tour de San Luis, he finished third overall after crashing during the 5th stage and working for his brother Dayer who took overall victory. He will be back in Europe after the Colombian national championships next weekend. He will race the Volta a Catalunya and the Vuelta al País Vasco.

"Whenever I start a race, whether I'm in good condition or poor condition, I always fight to be on the podium, at least, or to win. It is one of my characteristics, and the team has got used to my way of thinking. When I don't feel able, and the team takes me, I have to respond. But always taking into account the training cycle that leads me to where I have to go", he added.

"The first time was a surprise find, so to speak. No one gave me any presents, and I had to suffer for it, but I wasn't conscious of what I was doing and what I had done. Starting last year, my preparation, targeting the Tour, being much more meticulous... it is very different. It means you achieve things with much more effort and, that's what makes the difference between the first and the second. But they have the same importance to me."

To win the Tour de France, Nairo Quintana has to defeat Chris Froome, certainly the best stage race rider of the peloton. "Froome is not an enemy. He is a rival, logically, on the bike. There is a rivalry - it's normal, we are on different teams - but we have never argued or used strong language with each other. We have understood each other at times, in the last Tour. But we don't talk much, apart from greetings, and he seems to be a good person, but we haven't had any more communication than that."