Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) is ready to put the difficult 2019 season behind him and start 2020 with next week's Tour Colombia 2.1. Speaking to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, the Sardinian said he feels so strong that his bike seems to break when he pedals.

Alou was diagnosed with a stenosis of the iliac artery early last year but suffered through 2018 without an answer to his ailment; he missed the Giro d'Italia after surgery in April but returned to racing in the Tour de Suisse and Tour de France.

At the Vuelta a España at the end of the season, he developed cytomegalovirus, but made it to stage 13 and finished in the top 10 twice. As his ninth professional season is about to begin, he is full of optimism.

, he told La Repubblica newspaper. I feel like I'm breaking my bike when I pedal. [The training [at Val di Sousa] went well.

"Last year I had serious physical problems, especially with the iliac artery surgery and the viral infection at the end of the season. Now I just need to get lucky. I have a lot of goals, but I keep them inside. I haven't lost my ambition, I haven't lost my passion."

Alou called the lonely six-hour ride "my recipe for happiness" and revealed that he has found joy in riding a bike again; the 29-year-old added that his struggles inspired him to get a tattoo.

"Cycling is not a profession or an obligation for me. I'm going to get a tattoo that taught me 'don't give up until the end. ' I've had some tough times, but in cycling I found 'justice' and the answers to move forward."

After Colombia, Aru's first half of the season is already on the schedule with the Tirreno-Adriatico, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and Tour de Romandie. He will then miss the Giro again after finishing second overall in 2015. Instead, the Tour de France will be his main objective this season.

"The team chose this path and I accepted it. I have one regret regarding the Giro: I missed the start in Sardinia in 2017 due to injury (bursitis after a fall while training in Spain in April). It gives me chills to think what it must have been like for me, a Sardinian living far from my own land (Lugano, Switzerland)."

Alou will race in France with the young UAE phenom Tadei Pogachar (second in the Vuelta), while newcomer Davide Formolo will take on the Giro.

With his injury problems seemingly resolved, there is no reason why Aru should not be active in the races and the Tour through the spring. If he returns to his best form, he may have a new goal to add to his list: the Tokyo Olympics.

Aru finished sixth in Rio 2016, Italy's best result. But for now, the 2020 road race is not on his calendar. Aru added that his selection for the national team will depend on his performance and that he is looking forward to riding for his former trade teammate Vincenzo Nibali.

"The Olympics are not on the program," he said. I just want to help the blue jersey and team captain Vincenzo Nibali."