Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali have chosen separate locations for their final blocks of altitude training ahead of the Tour de France, but Astana directeur sportif Giuseppe Martinelli is adamant the pair will pull in the same direction come July.
Speaking in Sestriere on Tuesday, where Aru is putting the finishing touches to preparations for his debut Tour, Martinelli reiterated that the Sardinian youngster will be Astana’s leader, but said that the presence of Nibali, winner of the Giro d’Italia, would be a bonus.
“We won’t go to the Tour with two leaders. Vincenzo is an extra weapon. I don’t want any rivalry,” Martinelli said, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. “Then the decisions will be made according to the race situation. I’m fortunate to have these two riders at my disposal. Managing them is easier than you think.”
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Nibali and Aru have followed largely separate programmes over the past three seasons at Astana, to the extent they have started just one WorldTour stage races together since the 2013 Giro – and that was last year’s Vuelta a España, where Nibali was expelled after the second day of racing for taking a tow from a team car. The only other stage race was the season-ending Abu Dhabi Tour in 2015.
As well as dovetailing their efforts at the Tour, the pair will line out together at the Rio 2016 Olympics, where Nibali is slated to lead Davide Cassani’s Italian team. While Aru has been training at Sestriere since the conclusion of the Dauphiné, Nibali has been clocking up the miles at the Passo San Pellegrino since his short break after the Giro.
“All of Italy can be proud of two athletes like Vincenzo and me. We’ll be in light blue at the Tour but in the maglia azzurra in Rio,” Aru told Gazzetta. “I have blind faith in Vincenzo.
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