Miguel Angel Lopez seems to have his sights set on the 2021 Tour de France and Vuelta a España, his first season with Movistar. He joins the team from Astana, where he spent the first six seasons of his professional career.

Lopez made his Tour debut in 2020, winning the Col de la Rose and looked to be on the podium, but a modest ride in the time trial to La Planche des Belle Fille dropped him to sixth place overall.

Two weeks later, Lopez made the start line of the Giro d'Italia to support Jacob Fuglsang, but a big crash in the time trial of the first stage in Palermo ended his race on the first day.

Lopez did not suffer any broken bones from the crash, but recently returned to training after undergoing surgery to treat a wound near his iliac artery.

According to "Mundo Ciclistico" (opens in new tab), "Fortunately, everything is going well in terms of recovery and rehabilitation," Lopez said. 'I followed all the instructions very carefully and for the first time in two and a half months I was able to ride my bike.'

Lopez, who in recent years has started the season in early February, is expected to start later in the 2021 season due to delays in winter preparations. His full race program has not yet been finalized, but he is expected to compete in the Tour and Vuelta. The 26-year-old will share the Grand Tour lead with Enric Mas, who finished fifth in both the Tour and Vuelta in 2020.

"The first training camp will take place on January 7, and I will be in contact with the team to study various aspects, including the 2021 calendar," Lopez said.

"Nothing is confirmed, but I think my schedule will start a little later, more or less in March, since I just started training. I think I will concentrate on the Tour and the Vuelta."

While with Astana, Lopez won the Tour de Suisse in 2016 and was on the podium in both the Giro and Tour in 2018. He also won the Volta a Catalunya in 2019.

"It's been a great six years. I grew up with them and learned a lot," Lopez said. 'But that's how life is. These changes are necessary, and I hope they are for the better."