'The Vuelta a España will be the usual horrendous race, the toughest stage race of 2017'

Fabio Aru expects a hard race over the next three weeks

Fabio Aru in action at the 2015 Vuelta a España

(Image credit: Watson)

Race winner in 2015, Fabio Aru (Astana) says that the 2017 Vuelta a España will be the "usual horrendous race" and the "toughest stage race of the 2017 season".

Aru begins as one of the favourites alongside the likes of Tour de France champion Chris Froome (Team Sky), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) when the race starts on Saturday in Nîmes, France.

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Gregor Brown

Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.