As Mikel Landa headed to Bologna airport for a flight home from the Giro d’Italia after being struck by a stomach virus, the peloton and the rivals he was expected to challenge rode north to Asolo.
Landa was one of the big three favourites for this year’s Giro d’Italia, alongside Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar). The loss of the Basque rider will simplify the race tactics but the first half of the Giro d’Italia has indicated that the likes of Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge), Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL Jumbo), Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) or Rafa Majka (Tinkoff) could step up to fight for victory. The loss of Landa is a boost for all of their chances but the riders sportingly refused to openly take advantage of his problems.
“I’m really sorry for Mikel but I’m sure Mikel will bounce back because he’s a good guy,” Nibali said at the start of stage 11 in Modena.
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“The day after the rest day can sometimes be a problem. We’re used to a specific physical routine in Grand Tours and so if you don’t do things right, then you risk losing minutes on a stage when it starts with a climb like yesterday’s stage did.”
“Last year I had a similar problem but I was a fortunate to suffer on an easier stage which only had a climb in the finale. I managed to survive and limit the damage. Yesterday’s stage was hard and so quickly revealed Mikel’s problems. When he was dropped he opted to quit, I can understand that. It was a tough moment for him.”
Astana directeur sportif Giuseppe Martinelli was more open about Astana’s satisfaction in seeing Landa leave the Giro with his tail between his legs.
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