2016 cycling preview: Tour de France, Olympic Games and other highlights

The coming year in cycling has a lot to live up to after a memorable 2015.

But with the usual serving of stage races and one-day Classics being complemented by the Olympic Games, 2016 has the potential to be even better.

Here are the highlights of the season ahead…

January

The year gets under way in Argentina at the Tour de San Luis (January 17-24), which runs side by side with the opening race of the UCI WorldTour, the Santos Tour Down Under (January 19-24). Home favourite Daniel Diaz won in San Luis last year but will have to fend off the challenge of Nairo Quintana if he is to retain his title. In Australia, Rohan Dennis is the defending champion but will have to share leadership of BMC Racing with Richie Porte, who was second overall last year.

February

The early-season programme continues with two more simultaneous races, the Dubai Tour (February3-6) and the Herald Sun Tour (February 3-7). Mark Cavendish won last year's Dubai Tour and returns in search of a second successive title, while the Herald Sun Tour is not normally a key race but is given prominence this year by the fact that Chris Froome is starting his season there.

Racing in the Middle East continues with the Tour of Qatar (February 8-12) and the Tour of Oman (February 17-22), while the European season starts with the Ruta del Sol in Spain and Volta ao Algarve in Portugal, both of which run from February 17-21. Froome won the 2015 edition of the Ruta del Sol and will be back to defend his title. Meanwhile, the Classics get under way with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad (February 27) and Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne (February 28), which were won by British riders Ian Stannard and Cavendish respectively last year.

March

The season gets into full swing in a March packed with stage races, Classics and action on the track. The first stage race is Paris-Nice (March 6-13), where Porte is the defending champion, followed swiftly by the hilly Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy (March 9-15), where Quintana triumphed in 2015. The climbers will then head to Spain for the Volta a Catalunya (21-27), which was another race won by Porte last year.

The Classics continue with one of the most picturesque races of the year, Strade Bianche (March 5), and then the first of the season's five one-day Monuments and the longest race of the year, Milan-San Remo (March 19). It takes place on a Saturday this time around, with 2015 winner John Degenkolb and 2014 winner Alexander Kristoff likely to be the main favourites. Focus then shifts to Belgium, where the one-day specialists will do battle at Dwars Door Vlaanderen (March 23), E3 Harelbeke (March 25) and Gent Wevelgem (March 27). Britain's Geraint Thomas won E3 last year.

March is also a key month for the track cyclists, with the UCI Track Cycling World Championships taking place in London from March 2-6.

Meanwhile, the newly created UCI Women's World Tour starts with the first four of 17 races: Strade Bianche (March 5), Ronde van Drenthe (March 12), Trofeo Alfredo Binda (March 20) and Gent-Wevelgem (March 27).

April

The Classics dominate the agenda in April. The second of the five Monuments, the Tour of Flanders (April 3), gets the month started, with Kristoff returning as the defending champion, before the third Monument, Paris-Roubaix (April 10), follows a week later, with Degenkolb looking for two wins in a row.

Attention then switches to the Ardennes Classics week, which is made up of the Amstel Gold Race (April 17), La Fleche Wallonne (April 20) and the fourth Monument, Liege-Bastogne-Liege (April 24). Alejandro Valverde won both Fleche and Liege last year and will be the man to beat again in 2016.

For the stage racers, there is the hilly Tour of the Basque Country (April 4-9), the Giro del Trentino (April 19-22), the Tour de Romandie (April 26-May 1) and the second edition of the Tour de Yorkshire (April 29-May 1) to get stuck into. Trentino and Romandie in particular are the final warm-up races for May's Giro d'Italia.

The women's WorldTour continues with the Tour of Flanders (April 3) and La Fleche Wallonne (April 20).

May

The tours of Romandie and Yorkshire both end on May 1, at which point attention turns to the first Grand Tour of the year, the Giro d'Italia (May 6-29), which starts with three days in the Netherlands and promises to be an exciting race. Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde, Mikel Landa, Richie Porte, Rafal Majka and Esteban Chaves are all expected to battle for the maglia rosa on a route containing five summit finishes and an uphill time trial. Alberto Contador, winner of the 2015 edition, is not expected to take part.

On the women's WorldTour, the riders leave Europe for the Tour of Chongming Island in China (May 6-8) and the Amgen Tour of California (May 19-22).

June

June is a relatively quiet month of racing for the men, but the two stage races that take place are both important final warm-ups for July's Tour de France.

First up is the Criterium du Dauphine (June 5-12), where Froome is the defending champion. Three of the past four winners of the Tour have also won the Dauphine that year, so expect all the Tour contenders to be present and fighting hard for overall victory.

Then it's the Tour de Suisse (June 11-19), which the sprinters heading to the Tour usually favour as their final dress rehearsal. Geraint Thomas finished second to Simon Spilak last year, so expect the Welshman to be back bidding for victory.

It's a busy month on the women's WorldTour, with the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic (June 5) being followed by the Aviva Women's Tour (June 15-19).

July

July in cycling means only one thing: the Tour de France (July 2-24). Froome is defending champion and is likely to go into the race as favourite, with Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador - in his final Tour appearance - set to be his closest rivals. However, Fabio Aru and Froome's old team-mate Richie Porte are also likely to be challenging for the yellow jersey. The race contains four summit finishes, including one on Mont Ventoux, as well as two individual time trials.

July is another busy month on the women's WorldTour. The biggest stage race of the season, the Giro d'Italia Internazionale Femminile (July 1-10) is followed by La Course by La Tour de France (July 24) and the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic (July 30).

August

August is dominated by the Olympic Games in Rio. First up is the road cycling, with the men's road race taking place on August 6, the women's road race on August 7 and both time trials on August 10. Froome wants to win both the road race and time trial, while fellow Briton Lizzie Armitstead is also targeting the road race. The track cycling then follows from August 11-16, with Sir Bradley Wiggins hoping to win gold in the men's team pursuit.

With the Olympics over, attention then turns to the third and final Grand Tour of the season, the Vuelta a Espana (August 20-September 11). The route has not yet been unveiled and it isn't clear who will be taking part, but the Vuelta has been the most exciting Grand Tour in recent years and should not be missed.

The women's WorldTour continues with the Crescent Vargarda road race (August 19) and team time trial (August 21) in Sweden, and the GP de Plouay (August 27).

September

The last week of the Vuelta overlaps with the Tour of Britain (September 4-11), which is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the hardest and most entertaining races of the year. Edvald Boasson Hagen won the 2015 edition. Also taking place are the GP de Quebec (September 9), GP de Montreal (September 11) and Eneco Tour (September 19-25).

The women's WorldTour ends with La Madrid Challenge (September 11), which takes place on the same day of the final stage of the men's Vuelta.

October

October is usually a quiet month, but due to the Olympics, the UCI Road World Championships have been moved back to October 9-16. The marquee races are the women's time trial on October 11, the men's time trial on October 12, the women's road race on October 15 and men's road race on October 16. The championships are taking place in Doha, with the road races set to finish in sprints.

Also taking place is the last of the five Monuments, Il Lombardia, on October 1. Vincenzo Nibali is the defending champion.