Alberto Contador says that he likes the course for the 2016 Tour de France a priori. The route includes more mountains but also has two time trials.

"A priori, I like the route of the Tour. And, if not, then I still have to because you have to adapt, but I think I can do fairly well. However, we will have to see it first," Contador told EFE about his main goal for the season.

The Spaniard spoke at a training camp with his Tinkoff teammates in Gran Canaria.

"This island guarantees two weeks of good weather to train at a time when it is difficult in the rest of Europe," he stated.

Contador who has won three editions of the Vuelta a Espana (2008, 2012 and 2014), the Tour de France twice (2007 and 2009) and the Giro d'Italia on two occasions (2008 and 2015), added that he has designed a 2016 calendar where the difference is that he will skip the Giro d'Italia. In addition to the Tour, he will target the Olympic Games in Rio and he welcomed that the course is different from other editions.

"I'm happy, because many times both the Worlds and Olympics tend to have very flat courses and I think it is a different show because the riders with my characteristics never have a chance to win. In this case it is different and we will try to exploit the opportunity to do a good Olympics," he said.

The Spaniard who will line up at the Volta ao Algarve (February 17-21), Paris-Nice (March 6-13), Volta a Catalunya (March 21-27), Tour of the Basque Country (April 4-9) and Criterium du Dauphine (June 5-12) before tackling the Tour in July, underlines that the Olympics will take place just two weeks after La Grande Bouchle.

"I wil not make a special planning because it is an Olympic year. You have to deliver a great effort in the Tour so it will be very important to recover as best as possible be in good condition in Rio in conditions," he said.

Contador has admitted that, in principle, this may be his last season in the elite of cycling, something he says will depend on "how the year goes and whether there is any disturbance or things of that kind."