Heading into the Vuelta a España, his last Grand Tour in Ineos Grenadiers, Chris Froome is aware that he lacks a clear reference point in terms of race form, but is upbeat about his ambitions.

"I feel like I've been closing the gap lately, but we'll see soon how far away I actually am," said Froome at an early morning press conference on Monday, the day before the Vuelta a España begins in the Basque Country.

The Vuelta a España has meant many things to Froome: it was his first Grand Tour podium and breakthrough race in 2011, and his second place was later a victory after Juan Jose Cobo was stripped of the title in July 2019.

Since 2011, the Vuelta has been a white whale for Froome. He either abandoned injured (2015), lost (2014, 2016), or simply took a knee after previously competing in the Tour (2012). That spell ended with a second consecutive Tour Vuelta win in 2017, and in July 2019, his 2011 Vuelta victory was officially confirmed.

Froome has not returned to the Vuelta since his 2017 victory and successful fight to clear his name after high levels of the asthma drug salbutamol were found in his urine sample; his crash at the 2019 Criterium du Dauphiné means he has not raced a Grand Tour since 2018 meaning that he has not raced a Grand Tour since 2018.

The team's goal is to help Richard Carapace, but with such a tough first week, Froome is hoping to get a very quick idea of what his underlying race conditions are like.

"I haven't raced much lately, so it's hard to say," said Froome, who retired from the Liège-Bastogne-Liège race on October 4 and was 91st overall at Tirreno-Adriatico in early September.

"But I'm feeling better and better on the bike, so I'm confident. I haven't raced a Grand Tour in two years, so I'll just take it day by day and come back to the Grand Tours.

"The first few days of racing are pretty full on, so we'll find out soon enough.

It will be Froome's last race with his current team before moving to the emerging nation of Israel in 2021, and he recognized that it would be strange to hit the road in Spain when he would not be wearing Ineos' colors in a few months' time.

At the same time, he has always had a fondness for the Vuelta a España, a race he "genuinely enjoys," so his participation is "a mixed emotion."

Even stranger, this is the start of the most recent Grand Tour in cycling history: the 18-day race is scheduled to finish in Madrid on November 8.

"It's going to be quite different this year," said Froome, "It's not your typical mid-summer Vuelta in Spain. The temperatures will be much lower."

He further added that the irony of the Vuelta being confined to the northern part of Spain, with its fall dates, will make it feel like a three-week version of the traditional rainy and cold Vuelta al País Vasco, which is held in April. Indeed, Tuesday's first stage, which will finish on the Arate, the most iconic climb in País Vasco, is expected to be held in heavy rain.

Still, Froome is eager to race.

"I'm looking forward to the race and to finishing my time in Ineos in the best possible way. One day at a time," said Froome.

At the Vuelta a España, Calapaz will lead the Ineos Grenadiers.

"For me personally, I will use the first few days to see where I am in the pack. I haven't done a lot of stage races lately, so it's pretty hard to know exactly where I am," he reiterated.

"The signs in training are getting better and better. It is difficult to quantify that when you are out there in the race and not sure where you are at."

Once you can do that, you will have a clearer idea of the rest of the race and know exactly "what kind of work you can accomplish."

Froom finally acknowledged that recognizing that he is "very light on the race" makes it harder to, as he put it, "stay on the wheel."

"I lost a lot more than normal, so a lot of this season has been about getting back up to speed again and getting used to the rhythm of racing.

"I feel like the gap has definitely closed recently and it will be interesting to see how far away I still am once I get into the heart of this Vuelta.