Tomorrow, Thibaut Pinot will start his cycling season ar the Grand Prix La Marseillaise before continuing at the Etoile de Bessèges. He knows the expectation will be big but he remains calm and is focused on following the plans laid out by his team. The Tour de France is still far from his concerns.

"Yes, I'm happy to put a race number on my jersey but I have enjoyed my training," he said in an interview with his FDJ team. "The winter went well but has also gone by fast. On Sunday it is time to start again and that's good."

Pinot has not found it difficult to relax despite his great results in the Tour de France where he was third overall.

"It was easy because I have a mentality that allows me to forget things quickly, to quickly focus on the next goal," he said. "After the Tour, I stopped. I did a few criteriums and I immediately had the desire to do a good Vuelta a Espana. Unfortunately, it did not work at all. The engine didn't work and I think I was a bit overtrained. I gave up but I immediately refocused on the end of the season.

"Now I am more busy but my brother helps me a lot. He and I make ​​a good team. I am more quiet thanks to him. In fact, I have not changed but I am calmer. I allow myself to do things I did not do in other years. I had a good time. I went to New Caledonia and then I spent a week in Tignes with my family during New Year. I spent time with family and friends. Since January 1, I have been on the bike but I took time to enjoy life."

Pinot's focus will again be the Tour de France but he also wants to win again after going through a winless 2014 season.

"I really want to raise my arms," he said. "Last year I was second four times, sometimes not by much, but being focused on the GC every time makes it harder to win a stage. My program is set: La Marseillaise, Etoile de Bessèges, the Tour of Oman, Tirreno-Adriatico. The first big goal is Tirreno. Before the Tour, it will be the race with the highest level and I will get to know where I stand. Then I will do the Criterium International in Corsica, the Tour of the Basque Country, the Tour de Romandie and perhaps the Critérium du Dauphiné depending on the course."

A key change for Pinot is that FDJ have signed Steve Morabito who is expected to be his lieutenant in the mountains.

"Steve is amazing and atypical," he said. "He is really an extraordinary person. He brings me a lot and will bring a lot to the FDJ team's professionalism. He will help me get through the races because he really knows about cycling. He has been with great leaders. He tells me stories about Contador and Evans and I think it will make me grow. For me, he is the best teammate for a leader. I am fortunate to have him at my side.

"We often spoke in the peloton and abandoned the Vuelta on the same day. That morning at 6am we were in the San Sebastian Airport. We did the trip together and he told me that BMC would not renew his contract and that he had contacts with other teams. I suggested that he could join FDJ and that's how things will be."

Pinot has just returned from a team training camp in Calpe.

"I want to thank Marc [Madiot, manager] for going to Spain," he said. "We took advantage of it. I feel we have turned a corner in coaching and training. The team is really good, everyone works well, everyone is motivated and everybody knows where we're going with three leaders [Pinot, Demare and Vichot]."

Later in the year Pinot will check some key stages of the Tour.

"I will do a recon of the Huy stage at the Flèche Wallonne," he said. "The next day I will ride on the cobbles and then I will do the usual recon of the Alps and Pyrenees in May. But I won't check all stages. That's useless.

"I am not able to mention all the summit finishes. I won't care before the Tour de Romandie. I will focus on the Tour in due course. It is still far away.

Pinot has already considered his plans for the second part of the year.

"The course for the world championship is not for me so the big objective will be the Tour of Lombardy," he said. "At the end of last season, I took pleasure in races that I usually don't do and it was important for me to be back at the Tour du Doubs and Tour Gevaudan. This is a lower level and I've realized that it's good to come out of the WorldTour from time to time."