Shortly after realizing that winning three Grand Tour events one year might be too much to ask from himself even with two healthy legs, Alberto Contador decided to try the tricky Giro-Tour double next season. Since targeting the Italian three-week event as his first major objective of the season will offer significant handicap to those of his closest rivals who decided to focus exclusively on the Tour de France, Tinkoff-Saxo masterminds came up with a challenge…

Claiming that all serious Grand Tour contenders should line-up in the same events to make their rivalry more thrilling and even in the same time, Oleg Tinkov challenged Contador’s biggest opponents to take on his at the Giro and Tour de France in 2015.

According to Cyclingnews, Tinkoff-Saxo manager Stefano Feltrin approached other teams during the Vuelta to find out whether they would be positive about the challenge.

"We proposed in an very informal way to the other teams. We believe the best riders should go up against each other in the biggest stage races in the calendar, it seems logical to us," Feltrin told Cyclingnews.

"It's a clear way to show who is the strongest rider in the sport. If Froome and Nibali also ride both the Giro and the Tour, it's good for the sport and there can be no excuses about who is the best Grand Tour rider."

Reportedly, Team Sky manager Dave Brailsford was reluctant as always to share any of his plans for the future. This time, though, it was for a good reason since the 2014 season proved to be disastrous for the British team and they need to answer many crucial questions when it comes to approaching the next year.

Astana sports director was very positive about the general idea, but revealed that the leadership in the Giro and Tour de France will be most likely divided between their Italian stars, Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali respectively.

"I think it'd be good for the sport, I'd like to see it," he told Cyclingnews. "We'll probably only decide our rider's objectives in November when we get together as a team. However I think Nibali will perhaps defend his Tour de France victory, while Aru could again got for the Giro d'Italia."