Fabio Aru is expected to miss the Tour de France in 2017 and instead target the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a Espana as he takes over from Vincenzo Nibali as Grand Tour team leader at Astana.
The Sardinian endured a difficult 2016 season. He built his race programme around the Tour de France but struggled to be competitive and then cracked on the final mountain stage to Morzine, finishing 13th overall, 19:20 behind winner Chris Froome (Team Sky). Aru finished second in the 2015 Giro d'Italia and won the Vuelta a Espana but raced for just 66 days this season, with his only a success a stage at the Criterium du Dauphine.
With Nibali now a rival at the new Bahrain-Merida team, the Astana team management are expecting Aru to step up in 2017 and fill Nibali's shoes. Aru will join up with his Astana teammates in late November for their usual first get together in Montecatini Terme, Tuscany. This week, the team's management will travel to Kazakhstan for a key meeting with manager Alexander Vinokourov to plan the team's 2017 season.
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"I can guarantee that Fabio will race more next season. He could debut at the Vuelta Valenciana (February 1-5) and then target the Abu Dhabi Tour (Feb 23-26) and Tirreno-Adriatico (March 8-14). To avoid any confusion, I think I can say that it's unimaginable that he doesn't ride the Giro. And it's more likely that he'll ride the Giro-Vuelta double than the Giro and the Tour," senior directeur sportif Beppe Martinelli told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Nibali will be missed
Martinelli admitted that Astana will miss Nibali for his leadership and results but is convinced that Aru can step up and fill his role of team leader.
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