The Astana team unveiled their new jersey, their new Argon 18 bikes and major goals for the 2017 season as the team begin a new chapter without long-time leader Vincenzo Nibali.
The Sicilian won three Grand Tours in the last four years but the role of team leader in Grand Tours now falls on the shoulders of Fabio Aru, who will target the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana in 2017.
"Vincenzo was a big rider for us but it's a normal change to teams in professional cycling," team manager Alexander Vinokourov said during the presentation at the team's first get together in Montecatini Terme in Tuscany. "Our objectives are the same: to win Grand Tours. We won 34 races in 2016. In the last 10 years we won eight Grand Tours. Now we hope that we can another Grand Tour - the Giro d'Italia, with Fabio."
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The riders will remain in Tuscany until Saturday to complete their medical check-ups and define their racing programmes. Some riders have begun riding on their new Argon 18 bikes but serious training will be begin in Calpe, Spain. The riders will then travel to Kazakhstan capital Astana for the official team presentation on December 11.
"For the Tour de France we'll see what Jakob Fuglsang can do," Vinokourov confirmed. "He's never won a race with Astana and he's always sacrificed his chances for others. He showed what he can by taking second in the Olympic road race, so he deserves his chance.
"We've got 10 new riders in the team and strengthened our Classics squad, so I hope we can also be competitive in the spring in Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège."
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