Vincenzo Nibali dismisses age as "just a number" and says he still has the same motivation and desire to race that he had as a boy growing up in Sicily.

The Italian turned 35 in November, the beginning of a new chapter in his long career with Trek-Segafredo after a difficult time in Bahrain-Merida. On Wednesday morning, he put on the Trek-Segafredo red and white jersey for the first time and began the 16th season of his professional career.

Nibali has won all three Grand Tours in his career and has set the Giro d'Italia, the Tokyo Olympic road race, and the world championships in Switzerland as his major goals for 2020.

"When I look back, I see a lot of things. I am not a Highlander, but I don't feel old at all. I'm still just as passionate and competitive in racing as I was when I was a boy. That's why I'm still here," Nibali told La Gazzetta dello Sport (opens in new tab).

"Starting a new season feels like going back to routine, but that's not a problem. I don't want to train anymore. Racing is much better than training! Winter is coming to an end and others have already started racing.

Nibali is in the 5-day Volta ao Algarve with Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos), Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana), and Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation), Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Phoenix) along with.

Even Poel is only 20 years old and Van der Poel is 25, and a new generation of young riders is emerging as a result of the team's priority to invest in young talent. Nibali is aware that he belongs to an older generation, but he believes he has found a balance between his racing needs and his personal life.

"Life is very different at 25 and 35," he notes. [When you are young, you can focus on riding; at 35, there is a lot more going on in your life: family, kids, etc. It's the hardest thing to balance. I know I have to take things one step at a time and focus on the here and now; I'm not thinking about two years from now."

Nibali revealed that he sacrificed preseason time at his home in Lugano for a training camp at Mount Teide, logging 1,348 km, 48 hours in the saddle and 31,594 m of climbing during the 12-day block.

"I think my form is pretty good, but I won't really know until I click in a race. I want to compare myself with other racers. I'm optimistic and relaxed.

"I think I got off to a better start than last year. The team has given me the support I need and I have trained in warm conditions in Sicily in December and in Mallorca before Teide. I don't think I missed a day of training in Lugano this winter because it hardly rained. Last year was different; my body needed time to recover from the vertebral injury I suffered in the 2018 Tour de France.

Nibali, who plans to target the Tokyo Olympics, is naturally aware of the possible effects of the coronavirus.

"I'm a little worried. We've added things like washing our hands more and not touching our faces to the medical protocols within the team. We also used face masks when we went to Tenerife. I was shocked that the Tokyo Marathon was cancelled. We need to see how things develop at the Games," he said.