Laurent Jalabert answers your question

How does a professional rider get onto his first races of the season? With which type of training?

Laurent Jalabert :

There are several ways to get onto the cycling season.
It depends on the rider’s objectives.
A professional rider that has the ambition to have good results on the spring classics has to keep in shape during the winter.
I often had to do that. After a three weeks break in November, I used to start daily training in the first days of December.
In order to handle the intense efforts of the first races, my objective was to finish the month of January with 6500kms done.
There the body is prepared to fight.
For the riders who have objectives further away in time (Tour de France), competing begins a bit later (end of February).
It’s mainly on the level of physical involvement that there is a difference as for these, the first races are more a complement of preparation than an opportunity to have good results.
Whatever your ambitions are, you’ll have to be courageous to face the harshness of winter.

Have a good ride...