Ilnur Zakarin has confirmed he will target the podium at the 2018 Tour France. The 28-year-old Katusha-Alpecin leader finished fifth in the Giro d´Italia and third in the Vuelta a España this year and will return to the Tour de France for the second time in his career having won a stage in 2016. `I´ve not decided with regards to the Giro d´Italia but for sure I´ll do the Tour de France as the GC leader,` the Russian told Cyclingnews at Katusha´s team camp in Mallorca, on Saturday. `I might still do the Giro or the Vuelta a Espana but 2018 is going to be about targeting the Tour de France. I think I can do top-five or even the podium in July. I think that I´m ready and I´m really going to try. I´ve done the Giro and the Vuelta as the leader, and now it´s time to do the Tour.`ADVERTISEMENT With new signing Marcel Kittel already confirming that he will target the Tour de France next July, the Katusha management find themselves in the delicate situation of providing both team leaders with enough support to achieve their aims. The issue becomes more acute in 2018 with Grand Tour teams cut from nine riders to eight. However, Zakarin, who has achieved his Grand Tour success in the past without the same backing as some of his rivals, believes that he can share teammates with Kittel. `I think I´ll have three climbers for me, and there will be three riders for Marcel but the riders for the flats and the sprints can also help me in the first week of the Tour when we´re on the tight roads and the cobbles. I´ve never raced the cobbles but I´ll check those stages out after Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I think we´ve a really strong team for the team time trial, too, with Tony Martin, and Alex Dowsett. Once I saw the parcours for the Giro and the Tour I made my decision.` Despite not having a stacked roster of GC talent in recent years, Katusha have allowed Zakarin to develop at his own pace. The Russian has cut his teeth in the Giro and in 2017 was a consistent performer through ...
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