Alberto Contador has revealed he was "destroyed" this time last year and will go into the Criterium du Dauphine and Tour de France over the next few weeks feeling "much better".
The 33-year-old Spaniard could only finish fifth at the 2015 Tour after being exhausted by his successful attempt to win the Giro d'Italia a month earlier.
This year he is focusing solely on dethroning Chris Froome at Tour and will take on the Team Sky leader at the eight-day Dauphine, which is a key warm-up race and starts on Sunday.
Contador, who has raced 16 fewer days this year than at the same point last season, said: "After the Dauphine is over, I will know whether I have to give more intensity to my training or if we have to be a little more cautious.
"I feel much better than last year. At this point I was destroyed, very tired because of the demands of the Giro d'Italia. I feel much better now."
As well as Froome, Contador will face Katusha's Joaquim Rodriguez, Astana's Fabio Aru, BMC Racing's Richie Porte and FDJ.fr's Thibaut Pinot at the Dauphine.
Contador admits the toughness of some of the stages could see his Tinkoff team's tactics book thrown out of the window.
"It's very, very hard and demanding," he added. "Perhaps it is noteworthy that most of the summit finishes are not very hard, but on the other hand they are preceded by other very demanding climbs.
"They are finishes of five per cent or 5.5 per cent, but you will reach them with just enough strength left. And because it is a very demanding parcours, it alters a bit the 'obligation' to contest the race, because you cannot wear yourself nor the team. We will have to take it day by day.
"Similar to other years, my approach will be a bit different to the early-season races, because the goal is to fine-tune my body for the Tour de France. Of course, a lot of work has already been done and that will be seen, but there will be tough days in which I will be able to see where I stand compared to the rivals."