Joaquim Rodriguez is approaching the end of his career but the Katusha leader is still very ambitious. The Spaniard has lots of ideas for the final part of his career which could see him ride in support of teammates or focus more on the classics.

Podiums at the Giro, the Tour and the Vuelta, winner of Il Lombardia and Fleche Wallonne, silver and bronze at the World Championships, podiums in Liege, Amstel and San Sebastián, Spanish champion, winner of the Volta a Catalunya, stage winner in Paris-Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, Dauphiné... Joaquim Rodriguez has an amazing palmares and he wants to add more in the final part of his career.

Rodriguez is now 35 years old and he admits that he has to approach the races differently from what he did in the past.

"You have to pay more attention to the details to reach your best," he tells Biciciclismo in a lengthy interview. "It requires more. Earlier you just had to do two pedalstrokes to get fit, now you have to work a lot harder. But it is true that once you get to this point, it is also more difficult to lose. You have the maturity to know when to train and when to relax. You know what to do to get to your best. Earlier I went to a lot of races without knowing if I was okay and then you did great without knowing why. That was because of the young age. Now it is very difficult to go to a race without being fit and do well. And there are no more gifts like when you were 25 years old. You have to work hard, but when you're well, you can do better than before."

Rodriguez' contract with Katusha ends at the end of the season but he is not worried about his futute.

"Thankfully I have heard a few small things," he said. "People are interested which motivates. And I imagine that after so many years with Katusha, I will do another normal season. I don't want to lose what I have left in cycling.

"In the end, there are two parties. If both are interested, it is easy to stay together. When one of us has some doubt, I will change teams. I have a normal relationship with manager Viacheclav Ekimov."

Katusha has had a turbulent past but with the arrival of Ekimov, things have calmed down.

"We have had a couple of quiet year, that's true, but there are always changes," Rodriguez says. "If it is not the team kit, it is the bike ... The winters are usually complicated for riders. We all want to start to ride."

Rodriguez is part of a strong Spanish group that also consists of his close friends Daniel Moreno, Alberto Losada and Angel Vicioso.

"In the end, it is harder to keep a group together when we get older," he says. "But I think they have also played a role in my victories and I want to stay with them. I won't say we are still young but I think we have a great desire to ride and that's what matters. I am 35 years old, this year I will turn 36.

"I won't ride until I am 43, I can already say that. I have been too much away from home. In recent years, it has become harder. To have to talk to you two kids via Whatshapp is not what I like. In the end one has to cross the line and make a decision. The 2016 Olympics will be a target and could be a tremendous way to end my career. I also want to be at home with my family. I could continue with a greatly reduced schedule or I could get out of contract and enjoy what I have at home."

At the end of their careers, many riders have turned into domestiques. Rodriguez doesn't rule out that he could follow a similar trajectory.

"I could help a teammate. Why not? You have seen that I have no trouble putting myself at the disposal of a teammate," he says. "And hopefully, I will be lucky enough to have a teammate at Katusha or another team, like it has happened to be with other riders who have helped me a lot. They have given me some great advice. The truth is I do not mind having that role. I would like to teach the youngster everything I have learned from my teammates and the leaders I have helped. Nobody knows everything from the beginning."

He compares that new role with the one Ivan Basso will have at Tinkoff-Saxo.

"Although Albert (Contador) doesn't need to learn anything," he says." Surely Basso is at Tinkoff-Saxo more to help the young riders than because of his results. It is not easy to handle everything with hotels, rest, training... It is very important to have a teammate at your side."

Another option for Rodriguez could be to skip the grand tours to focus fully on the classics.

"You can have your opportunities," he says. "Obviously it is not as hard to prepare for Fleche or Liege as it is to prepare for a grand tour, especially if you do something all year. Or instead of doing the Vuelta in the second peak, I could race in Canada and prepare for the Worlds. A grand tour is very exhausting and it may be good for the joy to change. Cycling is not only the grand tours and you can enjoy all races."

Rodriguez doesn't expect to miss cycling when he retires.

"I will never miss it because I will never leave," he says. "When I look at the contacts on my phone, I see one rider, another rider.... In the end , I have created a world that is all about cycling and it will be very difficult to skip that connection. As I said earlier, cycling is not only a professional job. I am a very big fan and in some way I will be stay here."

Contador has a U23 and a junior team while Alejandro Valverde has a cadet team. Rodriguez may have similar plans in the future.

"That is something I would like to do," he says. "It can be tiring to be away from home for so many days but I really love to help young kids. In fact, we have sponsored a cycling school in Andorra and I will try to have a connection there to see if we can get many children and produce something big. I like these non-profit projects. It costs more than you get in return but the love you receive and the illusion of making kids grow are very, very nice."