Twice he has won the title, last year sneaking up the inside of the bunch to outsprint his rivals in Lisbon.

And all this despite being only 26 and, with the Spaniard still improving all the time as a sprinter.

It has not all been plain sailing for Freire who has been dogged by a series of injuries, including on-going back problems.

He was also kept out of the sport for some of last year by viral gastro-enteritis.

Illness and injury now look to have passed and Freire and he returned to his best form in the Tour de France to win a stage.

He crashed out of the race in the end but his confidence is high and he looks to have the making of his closest rivals.

Like many of his peers, he is focusing on the Vuelta as the main target of his season.