Good evening, I'm glad you all came.

First of all, I'm very motivated to start this year, I can't explain how proud I am to wear the Rainbow Jersey, I want to show it as much as possible, and I want to prove that I'm worth of the title.

Secondly, I want to thank the team. I had signed a contract to leave, but when I had some bad luck last year, they supported me so much, I just couldn't leave them. They have become dear friends and with new signings such as Rui Costa, the team is stronger than ever.

I will now tell you my schedule. I opted for the Giro - Vuelta double, but the Tour de France really wanted the World Champion on their startlist. After long negotiations between the organization, the management and myself, I have decided to accept. I feel I'm ready for the Tour. I will not ride a second GT, since I think TDF will be hard enough as it is.

Because of this beautiful jersey, I want to show it as much as possible, that's why I chose for more one-day WT races instead of longer (GT) races. Here is my provisional schedule:

January: Tour Down Under: going for the GC win, maybe a stage win.

February: Trofeo di Lugano: just warming up

March: Paris - Nice and Volta Ciclista a Catalunya: I want to prolong my title in at least one. I think it's possible!

April: Paris - Vimoutiers, Amstel Gold Race, Flèche Wallonne and Liège - Bastogne - Liège. Looking for at least one win.

May: Rest/Training in France and Spain (+ A 3-day stage race for charity in Colombia)

June: Critérium du Dauphiné, National Championship and Tour de France. Looking for good results in all those races.

July: Tour de France

August: Coppa di Camaiore, GP San Sébastian, Hamburg Classic and GP Ouest-France. No concrete expectations in advance.

September: Trofeo della Romagna, GP de Québec, GP de Montréal, World Championship and Lombardia. Maybe my most ambitious month, as I want to get another World title, another win in Lombardia and excellent results in Canada.

That's it. 2014 is a very ambitious year for me, and if even half my goals succeed, I will be a very happy man. Most of all, I want to show the world my jersey and show the peloton the back of it!

Thank you for being here. No questions, please.

Ian Butler wrote:


TheManxMissile: I would've, but that changed with the WC shirt. If he didn't have that shirt, he would've done Giro - Vuelta. Hope you understand (who doesn't want to try and win TDF in WC shirt? )

Well, I'm quite content. Two stage wins and the overall win, that's so great. It's a nice country to race in. However, I'm disappointed in some riders. I thought they had more respect for me. I wanted to make the race, but it seems nobody wanted to make the race with me. I hope the rest of the season won't be like this. It's not fun riding this way.