Vincenzo Nibali will prioritise the Giro d'Italia over the Tour de France in 2013 as he bids to win his home Grand Tour for the first time.
The 28-year-old is keen to add a second Grand Tour victory to the Vuelta a Espana he won in 2010 and has been given renewed impetus by a close-season move from Liquigas-Cannondale to Astana.
The Italian finished second at the 2011 Giro, before skipping it this year in order to concentrate on the Tour, at which he finished third.
However, with a particularly mountainous route having being laid out for the 2013 Tour, Nibali, who struggles to compete with the best climbers, is switching attention back to Italy.
Astana general manager Alexandre Vinokourov said: "Goal number one this year [2013] is to win the Giro d'Italia. With Vincenzo Nibali leading a squad of strong, motivated riders in May, we know we have the pieces in place and a plan in motion to get us there."
Vinokourov was speaking at the Astana team presentation in Kazakhstan, where multi-national line-up of 29 riders from ten countries was unveiled.
Astana's other new signings include Danish all-rounder Jakob Fuglsang and Italian sprinter Andrea Guardini.
The team's last Grand Tour triumph was in 2009, when Alberto Contador won his second Tour de France.
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