Sir Bradley Wiggins is pleased with his form following the Volta a Catalunya as his target of the Giro d’Italia draws ever closer.

The Brit claimed fifth overall on his return to racing action in the south of Spain, showing flashes of aggressiveness on a number of times during the week-long stage race to test his form.

Wiggins has switched objectives for 2013 following a hugely successful season last year, opting for a different build up prior to the first Grand Tour of the season in May.

“When I look back at what I’ve done since January – I’ve done a lot of work. More work than last year,” said the Tour de France winner on the Sky website.

“I really enjoy training and I’m pleased with the level I’ve got back to. There were times when I thought maybe I’d never get back to that level. So this last week’s been really good.”

A surprise first stage attack on the run into Calella signalled Wiggins’ intentions in Catalunya and showed a rider itching to get back into action.

“It’s been a hard week but that’s a good sign I think more than anything," he admitted. "My last race was Oman and I didn’t really get a lot out of it because I was quite tired. So it’s been a good little test really because it’s not easy with the summit finishes.”

Not opting to immediately defend the maillot jaune at the Tour has seen Wiggins repeatedly asked about his objectives.

“My goal was always to win the Tour. It was never to win three Tours,” he explained. “So when I won the first Tour my life changed considerably. There was a lot to come to terms with and it’s only since January that I’ve got back to racing and training."

“There’d been such a build-up for three or four years since I joined Sky to win the Tour. Once I’d done it I was a case of ‘what do I do now?’ I’d achieved everything that I’d wanted to achieve. It’s other things like that Giro that really interest me. But not just the Giro – trying to do a good Giro and then the Tour after it is appealing as well because it’s a new challenge."

“The plan is still to do Giro-Tour and managing that fatigue in between so we’re still good at the Tour. And that’s the challenge. The same as the Olympics and the Tour was last year and it’s that same sort of process.”

The work doesn’t stop for Wiggins who will return to a training programme which has been ramped up and slightly altered once again compared to last season.

“This year we’ve been working more on the explosive climbing and things like that because the racing is going that way more. The Giro climbs are more that way, and on Vallter a few days ago the first signs were that I still had good legs to attack. So it seems to be working.”