Two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar won the Jaen Paraiso Interior semi-classic in Spain on Monday with a long range solo escape in his first cycling race of the year.

The 24-year-old came second in the 2022 Tour de France after winning the two previous editions and set out his season with this win.

"The idea is to arrive at the Tour de France in the best form possible, and also to be ready for the classics," said Pogacar.

The Slovenian appeared to slightly overstretch himself last season, allowing Jumbo's Jonas Vingegaard to edge the Tour, but Pogacar's strategy is an unrepentant one.

"I want to be on form for the Milan-SanRemo, the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege," he said, referring to three of the massive one-day classics -- known as monuments because of their epic length.

"I wanted to spice up my calendar a bit," he said, of the one day races ahead of the Tour.

Pogacar will also race the upcoming Tour of Andalucia, and then the Strade Bianche March 4.

On Monday Pogacar skipped away from his rivals on a course over sections of dirt tracks amid the olive groves of Andalucia.

He powered after and caught an early escape, dropped them and then built up a lead over two minutes before surviving a late puncture to clinch the win.