As he didn't attend the presentation, Joaquim Rodriguez flew a bit under the radar when the course for the Tour de France was presented. With little time trialling, however, the Spaniard is delighted with the route and admits that it would almost be a sin not to take advantage of a race that is tailor-made for him.

While he missed the event as he was just about to start a vacation with his family, Joaquim Rodriguez followed yesterday's Tour de France presentation with interest. Having seen a course that suits him perfectly, he is very satisfied.

"On paper it is a great Tour, one hundred percent for climbers, with hard mountain stages at the end and very little time trialling which is my weak point. Maybe it's the course that suits me the best of all the grand tours I have done and I will enjoy it like I did in 2013," Rodriguez says.

Two years ago, the Katusha captain finished third in Paris. It was his best performance in the three editions of the race he has done (6th in 2010 and 54th in 2014). At 35, he may be facing his last great chance to challenge for victory in the Grande Boucle. 

"That's not how I see it but I am always trying to do better. For my part, I have a clear idea. Now I have to see which plans the team has and they are the ones to decide, but I think it would be a sin not to be in this Tour," adds the Catalan. 

But Rodriguez is not the only rider to be pleased with the change of direction being taken by the Tour. There are other riders who are also favored by this design. 

"Of course. Like it is good for me, it is also good for Quintana, Contador, Valverde and Froome. Even though the Brit has said that he may prefer the Giro and the Vuelta, I am sure that he will be at the start. Maybe Nibali is the one who is least favoured as he doesn't like those explosive finishes. But it is definitely a very attractive route. There will be lots of spectators," Rodriguez added.

Regarding the cobbles and the stages of the first week, Rodriguez is not too concerned.

"The danger is the same for everyone. The luck factor does not distinguish between climbers, rouleurs or time trialists. If you crash, you crash. You simply need to take that risk

Regarding the grand tour challenge proposed by Oleg Tinkov who has encouraged the great champions to do all thre grand tours, Rodriguez refuses the idea.

"Last year I started all three because of  the special circumstances with my withdrawal from the Giro due to a crash, but my plan is to only do two of them. If I do the Tour, I will skip the Giro and also do the Vuelta. But I have to make a decision with my team," he says.

In 2014, Rodriguez finished fourth in the Vuelta after having abandoned the Giro and used the Tour to prepare for the Spanish race.