Nairo Quintana had a breakthrough performance in this year's Tour de France when he finished 2nd overall and won both the white and polka-dot jerseys. The Colombian expects this year's race to be decided in the Pyrenees and looks forward to the finish in Risoul where he has had success in the past.

Nairo Quintana had long shown his talents as a climber but he had never featured at the pointy end of a grand tour when he lined up at the start in Corsica for this year's edition of the Tour de France. Three weeks later, the Colombian had emerged as one of the greatest riders in the three-week races when he had finished 2nd overall, taken a stage win and won both the polka-dot and white jerseys.

Those performances have naturally turned the tiny Colombian into one of the favourites for next year's edition of the French race and so he was extra attentive when the course for the race was unveiled in the Palais des Congres today. With the route containing only one time trial and stages in three different mountain ranges, it appears to be one for a climber like Quintana.

To get to the high mountains, the riders will have to survive 9 easier stages in the first part of the race, one of them including 15km of the feared cobbles in Northern France. With time gaps being small at that point, Quintana fears that the race will be extremely nervous in the first week.

"I could witness it firsthand last year, but next year’s Tour can be really nervous in its first week," he said. "The cobbles could make the race dangerous and difficult. It will be crucial to have a strong team at your side in the first days."

The riders will get their first feeling of the mountains in the Vosges where a two summit finishes will open up the first small time gaps. The race then heads to the Alps where one of the stages will finish in Risoul.

Quintana has fond memories of that particular climb and looks forward to the stage.

After that, the first two mountain-top finishes should be good for my characteristics," he said. "Both Alps and Pyrenees offer attractive stages. The finish in Risoul brings me good memories from the time I won a stage in the Tour de l’Avenir, in 2010."

The final week will be brutal as it offers three consecutive stages in the Pyrenees and the race's only time trial. Quintana expects it all to come down to those final few days.

Still, I think the Pyrenean stages will be decisive - also the individual time trial should be a key for success," he said. "It’s a TT for pure power riders and gaps will be noticable."

Quintana has to share captaincy duties with Alejandro Valverde and the team still hasn't decided how to distribute the grand tours among their leaders. Hence, Quintana doesn't know if he will be at the start in Leeds on July 5.

"Now it’s time to talk to Eusebio (Unzue, manager, ed.) and see what’s the best choice for me as well as Alejandro, to see which Grand Tours should we be riding," he said.

Unzue: A nervous first week

One of the major characteristics of the course is the fact that the first big mountaintop finish comes on stage 10 at a time when the race still hasn't had any real stage to open up time gaps. Some riders may lose time on the cobbles but the GC is still expected to be close by the time they reach the summit finish on La Planche des Belles Filles.

Movistar manager Eusebio Unzue pointed to this particular fact as an important aspect of the race.

"Leaving aside the fact that it's hard to make a different Tour route, I think we'll be having a distinct one next year - especially in the beginning, with no prologue, no individual time trial, no team time trial, all three usually making some gaps that make the race a bit less nervous," he said. "The biggest change and probably the most surprising one is having just one ITT, and in the penultimate day. That will certainly make the beginning of the Tour tremendously open and nervous, with the main favourites not able to test themselves until the 9th day of racing. The nerves will be even higher on the cobblestones - it all will be pretty much a matter of survival into the opening eight days."

Like Quintana, Unzue expects the time trial and the Pyrenean stages to be decisive.

"Everyone is pointing out that the Vosges will be important and it's true that they might become dangerous as they will be the first mountain block in the race," he said. "Although the climbs are short, they will also be hard. Yet, I don't feel like they will be so decisive for the final podium. The Alpine stages don't seem to be so demanding, and the Pyrenees and the Bergerac time trial will be defining for the overall. It's true that only 54k of TT's are maybe too few, but being ridden on a sole day, the last competitive one, with no margin to recover, will turn them into the key factor of this race."

Unzue stressed the fact that he still hasn't decided whether Quintana or Valverde will lead the team in France in July but opened the door that they may both be on the start line.

"Due to all those conditions, I don't really know if it will be a Tour suiting us more or less," he said. "There's nothing defined on our plans yet - it is now time to sit down with Nairo and Alejandro, and decide which thing is more convenient for us. Nothing is decided at this point, and it's even possible that both could be at the start. We will have to reflect on it further, but the first impression on the race parcours is that as well Nairo as Alejandro can be fighting for the overall victory."

This year Movistar won 3 stages in the race, won two distinctive jerseys and put two riders in the top 10 on GC.