UTRECHT (NETHERLANDS) - Reigning champion Vincenzo Nibali admitted Friday that he has been unhappy with his season so far, but insisted he is still on course to retain the Tour de France title.
Vincenzo Nibali of Italy celebrates his 2014 victory in the Tour de France
On the eve of the Grand Depart in Utrecht with Saturday's 13.8-kilometre time trial, Nibali pulled no punches about the tough start he's had to the current campaign, in which he had not yet won a race until last weekend's Italian championships.
"It was a difficult spring because I didn't have any wins and wasn't able to find the right conditions to win," said the 30-year-old Sicilian.
"Even from winning the Tour last year, it wasn't easy to get going again in the new season.
"But with my coach Paolo Slongo we managed to find the ideal preparation and training before the Tour, just like last year, and now we'll see at the Tour."
Nibali also moved to backtrack on his barb aimed at Tour rival Nairo Quintana, in which he questioned where the Colombian climber had been preparing for the Tour -- something that was seen by many as a thinly veiled suggestion that the Movistar leader was training back in his homeland to avoid being tested for doping.
"My intention wasn't to discredit an important country like Colombia in questioning where Quintana was," explained Nibali.
"It was about knowing where everyone else is and seeing how many media were following our training when in Teide, San Pellegrino or at the Dauphine.
"It was just a simple 'we don't know where Quintana is because we haven't seen him since (the Tour de) Romandie'.
"It wasn't a controversy, just a way of saying we haven't seen him since Romandie. I'm sorry if the question was taken the wrong way.
"For me he's one of the favourites, if not the absolute favourite."
Quintana had reacted angrily when asked about Nibali's question, fuming to Het Nieuwsblad newspaper: "We are talking about Colombia as if it were a country lost in the jungle, far from anything or anyone. You can rest assured that I have undergone and passed tests there."
Speaking about his own team Astana's doping problems, Nibali insisted he and his teammates had always remained calm throughout the year, despite the possibility of the Kazakh outfit's World Tour licence being revoked.
"We had problems at the beginning of the year when the media spoke a lot and there were many rumours, but nothing ever happened. Our licence was in question but it was never revoked," said Nibali.
"We paid with this whole problem for two riders who were doped, but we can't respond to errors we haven't made.
"We kept working serenely and with commitment, and we arrive at the Tour de France with the right motivation and the desire to do well, peddle hard and enjoy it."
Kazkah brothers Maxim and Valentin Iglinsky both tested positive for EPO last year while three riders from the team's feeder Continental Tour outfit also failed dope tests.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) recommended that Astana's licence be revoked but that was rejected by its own licence commission, although Astana were put under greater scrutiny.