Astana's Miguel Angel Lopez has welcomed the return to racing from his native Colombia, where some of the restrictions caused by the coronavirus have been lifted and he can once again train on the road, but the Grand Tour contender has not yet announced what his Grand Tour contender will do once the World Tour-level competition resumes in August. The team has yet to announce what the race program will be.

The 26-year-old Lopez has yet to debut in the Tour de France, where Astana teammate Jakob Fuglsang has competed in recent years, but has finished third and seventh in the last two Giro d'Italia and in the top 10 overall in the last three Vuelta a España.

This year's Tour runs from August 29-September 20, with the Giro postponed from October 3-25 and the Vuelta from October 20-November 8.

Lopez took the race leader's jersey last August after the opening team time trial of the 2019 Vuelta a España, before finishing fifth overall behind eventual winner Primoš Roglic (Jumbo Visma) in Madrid at the end of the race, and third in the first week alone. He lost the leader's jersey for the third time in the first week alone, before winning the leader's jersey twice more.

Lopez also wore the white jersey as the best young rider during the Vuelta, but ultimately lost it to Tadej Pogachar of UAE Team Emirates.

Lopez took the white jersey at the Giro and also won the overall at the Volta a Catalunya in Spain in March and the Tour Colombia 2.1 in his home town in February.

Lopez, who has finished in the top eight in all seven Grand Tours he has completed, does not yet know which Grand Tours (perhaps a combination of two) he plans to compete in this shortened 2020 season.

"It's great to know that the main calendar for the race has already been finalized and that the race will take place in a much shorter period of time, from August to November," Lopez said on the team website on Monday.

"Of course, the sport directors and coaches are in the process of preparing plans for training camps and races for each athlete. But for me personally, my main goal right now is to get back to racing as soon as possible. I want to get everything back to normal and resume the season--the sooner the better," he said.

"It's great to have the opportunity to train on the road again now. I'm trying to increase my mileage and slowly get my form back to where it was at the beginning of the season," Lopez said.

"I am in constant contact with the team's sport director and coaches, especially my coach Maurizio Mazzoleni, who coordinates my training process.

"We are all going through difficult times. It takes a strong mental and emotional strength to stay motivated and willing to train.

"Of course, it is in times like these that the support of your family and team, who are always close by, come to the fore," Lopez added. The support of the team is an unconditional factor that has allowed me to stay calm, train at home, and keep my motivation high."