Simon Yates has started his preparation for next season. In 2016, the Orica-GreenEDGE rider will focus only on the Tour de France. On his blog on SkySports website, he told that he will have a similar schedule and that the Tour will be his main goal.

"After five weeks of off-season, this is my first day back at my training base in Spain and 2016 effectively starts here", the Brit explained. "I flew into Girona on Monday night and I'm spending today getting myself settled in again, but then it's down to business with my first ride of winter training on Wednesday."

"Speaking of races, it looks like I'm going to be doing a similar schedule in 2016 to this year, so my first outing of the season will probably be Paris-Nice in March, and from there I'll build towards my main goal, the Tour de France."

He added that he would like to win one-week races. "Next year is my third as a professional and while I've done well so far, I'm keen to step up to the next level in 2016 and start winning week-long stage races, such as Paris-Nice or the Tour of the Basque Country, or at least get on to the podium."