Alejandro Valverde supports the decision to ride both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a Espana with Nairo Quintana. The Spanish veteran will probably play a vital supporting role for the Colombian in the very mountainous Tour de France.

After an outstanding 2014 season in which he won the individual WorldTour and finished fourth in the Tour when he seemed to have a golden opportunity to finish on the podium, Alejandro Valverde will repeat the Tour-Vuelta double but Nairo Quintana will be the captain in the French race.

The Spaniard refuses to create any controversy when asked about his position.

"It's totally different than it was with Froome and Wiggins," he said at a press conference that was held in Pamplona, referring to the fight between the two Britons at the 2012 Tour de France. "Clearly Nairo is a rider who can perfectly aim for the win in the Tour. I can be very close but I don't know if I can win but it will be complicated. I'm a realist and I know the Tour has to be for Nairo and we will be much stronger by being together than by being alone. We're 100% behind Nairo. I have made it clear that there is no problem. He knows it and we get along wonderfully. And with the two of us, we will be very strong and hard to beat for the rival teams."

Valverde believes that with a different 2015 Tour with barely any time trialling and eight summit finishes, they have to gamble everything on Paris.

"I think it's a Tour where you can do a lot by having two riders in the front in the mountains. Nairo is the best or one of the best and I can be very close. I think the ideal is to have a good team and two good riders in the Tour. The small amount of time trialling and the explosive finishes suit us well. Overall I think it is a good Tour for us," he said.

So again he has decided to skip the Giro d'Italia which he has never done.

"I will not retire without having done the Giro but due to alle the reasons we have mentioned, Eusebio (Unzue) thinks that it is the right thing to do next year's Tour and Vuelta. To be a stronger team. And the Giro will be an option for other teammates. Who knows, maybe I will do the Giro in 2016 or 2017 but now we have other priorities," he said.