José Joaquín Rojas will start his season today when he lines up for the first race of the Challenge de Mallorca, Trofeo Santanyí-Campos-Ses Salines. After having made his debut in Australia at the Tour Down Under for seven years in a row, the Spaniard will again start on the Balerica island like he did in 2007.

"Yes, this year I have changed the calendar. I wanted to start a little later and change the scenery," said Rojas. "The idea is to make a good start to the season, especially in races like Milan-San Remo where I would like to have the same condition as last year but without going down in a crash of course.

The start of last season was one to forget. In the first stage of the Tour Down Under, he was involved in a crash that left him with a scaphoid fracture that forced him to undergo surgery. After training hard, he did a big Paris-Nice, nearly finishing on the podium (fourth, one second behind Vichot) and nearly winning the final stage (second behindVichot). His hopes of winning Sanremo were dashed before the start. A crash in the neutralized section resulted in a nasty blow to the elbow and crack in the wrist, forcing him to abandon the race. 

"I hope to have more luck this year," he said before revealing the next part of his schedule. "Qatar, Oman, Paris-Nice, Sanremo and the northern classics: Harelbeke, Ghent, Flanders and Roubaix.

"Then, after a break, I will focus on the second part of the season, mainly the Tour. I want to be there with our leaders to do the maximum to try to win the Tour de France with them," he added. 

Rojas comes to Mallorca where he will wear dossard number 2 (Valverde will wear dossard number 1), "with good feelings, highly motivated and with the batteries charged one hundred percent. I want to win and do well.

"Maybe it costs a bit in the first races because I haven't raced since September but when I get a little race rhythm, I am sure I will reap the benefits of my good work during the winter."