Haimar Zubeldia prepares himself for his first year at the new Trek team and has finalized his race schedule. A traditional build-up will allow him to reach the Tour de France in the best possible condition, with his participation being his 13th in the world's biggest race.

One of the most consistent Tour de France riders plans to return to the world's biggest race in 2014 as La Grande Boucle will again be the centrepiece of Haimar Zubeldia's season. After four years at Radioshack, the 36-year-old Basque was one of several riders who was picked up by Trek when the team took over the license from the Luxembourgish team.

Zubeldia made his Tour debut in 2001 and has only missed the race once since his maiden participation. In 2010 he crashed at the Dauphiné and was absent from the start in Rotterdam but in all other editions, the Basque has been a guaranteed participant.

Zubeldia had his big breakthrough in 2003 when he finished 5th in the race, and he has later been in the top 3 on three occasions (2006, 2007 and 2012). This year he didn't have much success and rode an anonymous race to finish 36th overall.

Zubeldia will have a classical race program that will mostly see him race on home soil. He is likely to start his season at the new Dubai Tour and will ride the Vuelta a Andalucia, the Volta a Catalunya and the Vuelta al Pais Vasco before ending the first part of his season at the Ardennes classics.

He will return to competition at the Tour of California and will again use the Criterium du Dauphiné as his final build-up for the Tour.

In the second part of the season, he will again do the Vuelta a Espana which he has done 9 times in the past. He cracked the top 10 when he rode his first grand tour in 2000 but has not been among the 10 best riders since. This year he was riding really well but was struck by illness in the second week before abandoning the race in the Andorran cold. The Clasica San Sebastian will be his only race in between the two grand tours.

Zubeldia's teammate and close friend Markel Irizar has also announced his race schedule and he is also penciled in for a Tour participation in his first year as a Trek rider. The Basque has twice done the world's biggest race and played a crucial support role for Andy Schleck and Jan Bakelants in this year's edition of the race.

While Zubeldia and Irizar will ride together at the Tour, the first part of their seasons will be vastly different. Irizar will be one of the crucial support riders for Fabian Cancellara in the cobbled classics and will follow a race schedule that is very similar the Swiss'.

After starting the season at the Tour of Qatar, he will ride with Zubeldia in the Vuelta a Andalusia which he won in 2011. Then he will join forces with Cancellara in the Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico , E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Like Zubeldia, he will do the Tour of California and Criterium du Dauphiné in preparation of the Tour.

The Trek team is currently gathered for its first training camp in Benidorm.