Joaquim Rodriguez has confirmed that he will line up at the Tour de France and even though the Vuelta a Espana remains his main objective, he refuses that he will use the French race as mere preparation. The Spaniard has set his sights on the third week in the Pyrenees and hopes to win at least one stage.

Though initially not on his race schedule, last year’s Tour de France podium finisher Joaquim Rodriguez is happy to start in this year’s edition of the Grand Tour. Rodriguez, who had to abandon the Giro d’Italia due to fractures of a rib and thumb after a bad crash in Cassino last month, is recovering well and looks forward to showing himself in the Tour.

“I really wanted to perform well in the first part of the season," he said. "I had big ambitions but my crashes in the Amstel Gold Race and the Giro ruined my chances for the classics as well as for the first Grand Tour of the season.

"The other goal I put in place at the beginning of the season, the Tour of Spain, is still there. The course suits me and I want to win that race.

"This does not mean that I go to the Tour de France as preparation for the Vuelta. I have Tour ambitions too, though not for the GC. The third week looks nice and I want to win one or more stages. I have that goal and in the mean time I will enjoy my bike.

"Otherwise it would be hard to watch TV without being there. It hurt during the Giro and it would hurt in the Tour, too. Those races are ‘my’ races. It’s only when I watch races like Paris-Roubaix on TV that I don’t have the feeling that I’m missing something," he said, referring to the cobbled-classics that hold no interest for him.

The Team Katusha roster for the Tour de France is not yet finalized, but the line-up will not be altered dramatically.

Joaquim Rodriguez recently had a check-up on his thumb and that injury looks completely healed.

“My rib still hurts a bit, but already there is much less pain than in the beginning. It gets better every day and we still have three more weeks until the Tour,” he said.