Mikel Landa absolutely does not want to give in to bad luck and at 36 years old, after a very long series of accidents that have forced him into equally exhausting recoveries, is ready to clip back into the pedals and race with renewed passion in his sixteenth professional season.

Specifically, next year will see him once again focus on two grand tours, but while in 2025 the veteran from Murgia had opted for the Giro-Vuelta combination, in 2026 his plans include first the Giro d'Italia and immediately following that, the Tour de France.

"The idea is to start with the Volta Comunitat Valenciana on February 4th. Then I'll focus on Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Itzulia Basque Country, Giro d'Italia and then the Tour de France," revealed the Soudal Quick-Step rider to the publication Deia.

"We have an unfinished business with the Giro after what happened last year: let's see if it goes better this time. In 2025 I arrived at the start with great enthusiasm and desire to race, I felt really good and in my mind was the idea that it would be my last opportunity, but everything went up in smoke on the first day. Next year I'll try to achieve a good overall classification, while with Paul Magnier, who will be the team's sprinter, we'll try to get some stage wins," he specified, with Landa planning a different approach for the Grand Boucle.

"At the Tour I'll be free to hunt for stages and won't need to focus on the general classification. I've never gone to France with this goal and to be honest, I like it," admitted the veteran Basque rider, who has clearly weighed the routes of all three Grand Tours.

"They don't seem excessively difficult. On paper, there are no multi-stage blocks that are scary, even though both will be very demanding. The Giro scares me less than the Tour where the teams don't hold back," Landa commented, ready to take on new roles and responsibilities in the team after Evenepoel's departure.

"I've thought long and hard about what to do next season and how to approach it. I've relied a lot on the team, especially now that Remco is no longer here and, in principle, I have more responsibilities again. Together we've found this calendar and it really motivates me. The team will return to being like before and fight for sprints and classics, but as I said, I'll have my space and can help the young riders coming up who want to compete in week-long stage races," declared the '89 rider, still determined to play a significant role in top-level cycling despite numerous accidents, bad luck, and crashes that have tried to undermine his confidence, forcing him into rather tough rehabilitations.

The most recent was after the crash during the first stage of the last Giro d'Italia that cost him a stabilized fracture of the eleventh lumbar vertebra, a problem that forced him to stay away from the bike for a long time and that even after, once back in the saddle, affected his fitness.

"Even after the Vuelta, I realized I hadn't fully recovered and started wondering if I would return to my previous level, but now I believe the answer is yes," Landa said frankly, who, with a contract expiring next December, has not yet reflected on whether to continue or not.

"Right now, I have equal chances of hanging up the bike or continuing. If in 2026 I continue to enjoy myself, manage to regain my levels, and the team wants me, I'll continue. I'm happy here, I feel appreciated and have found my place, so the hope is to be able to end my career here," explained the Basque cyclist who, among other things, hopes to break the victory drought that has lasted since the Vuelta a Burgos in 2021.

"Winning has been a goal I've set myself every season, but then, for one reason or another, it has always slipped away. We'll see if this year I'll organize myself better and, after the performances I showed at the Vuelta where I raced like I hadn't in a long time, I'll be able to raise my arms in victory. Certainly, I can try to do something in the short stage races that, if they have mountains or uphill finishes and at the same time few time trial kilometers, suit my characteristics," Landa concluded with a hopeful tone.