Fabio Aru has announced his retirement from the peloton at the close of the 2021 Vuelta a España. 

Aru, winner of the 2015 Vuelta and stage winner in all three Grand Tours, has continued to ride for general classification throughout his career but has struggled to find form in recent years.

On Thursday (August 12), the Italian star announced he would be retiring as a rider to spend more time with his family. 

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The 31-year-old said: “Reaching this decision has not been easy but it is something that I’ve been thinking about and discussing with my family for some time. I’ve been racing my bike for 16 years and for more than a decade as a professional, but the time has come now to prioritise other things in my life, my family.

“During my career, as any bike rider will tell you, a significant time is spent away from home and for me this is now the right time to give back to them.

“I’ve been fortunate to realise my talent on the biggest stage of all, and together with my team-mates celebrate incredible successes.”

After announcing himself as a Grand Tour challenger during the 2014 season, with back-to-back podiums in his home race the Giro d’Italia, Aru went on to win the Vuelta a España in 2015 while riding in Astana colours. 

He continued to chase overall victory in three-week races, but never made it higher than fifth-place (in the 2017 Tour  de France). 

After switching to UAE Team Emirates in 2018, Aru was diagnosed with a blood flow problem in his left leg and underwent surgery to fix the constriction of his iliac artery in 2019.

Over the following two seasons he has struggled for results, but eventually did find some form part-way through 2021, having joined Qhubeka-NextHash at the start of the season, finishing second overall in the Vuelta a Burgos. 

Aru, whose last win came on stage five of the 2017 Tour de France, will now race the Vuelta a España as his final professional race. 

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 He said: "This team, without doubt is completely unique not just in cycling but across all sport, I am incredibly proud to race here and honoured to end my time as a professional with them.

“After a tough few years, in 2021 I was able to race my bike again and ride at a level that I knew I was capable of, while smiling on the bike. That is a victory in itself, and something that I will forever be grateful for. 

“I will continue to ride my bike because it is what I love to do but for now I’m focused on riding the Vuelta a España to the best of my ability with my Team Qhubeka-NextHash team-mates; and it’s fitting that my journey will end here in Spain, a place and a race where I have incredible memories.”

It is finally official! Fabio Aru will be riding for Qhubeka-Assos in the 2021 season where he will hope he can reinvigorate his career and start performing well at the Grand Tours.

Aru, who is leaving UAE Team Emirates, has been linked to numerous teams this year with rumours going around that he could have signed for Alpecin-Fenix and ride cyclocross, or even step down to Vini Zabù-Brado-KTM.

But no, it is the rebuilding project that is currently going on at Qhubeka-Assos that managed to get the former Italian champion's signature on the contract.

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Aru, who is now 30, said: "I am absolutely delighted to be joining Team Qhubeka-Assos next season and I'm very grateful to Douglas Ryder who welcomed me to his team,

"When the possibility to sign first came about, and then after speaking with Douglas and other team members, I immediately felt that this was an environment that I wanted to be a part of.

"In the last few years I haven’t experienced all of the success that I’d hoped for and so I will use this new step to draw from some of the simple factors that saw me achieve those results, as I know that I’m capable again of similar success."

Aru's year ended for UAE Team Emirates on stage nine of the Tour de France where he was dropped on a relatively flat stage and left behind with only the broom waggon to keep him company.

With former UAE boss, Giuseppe Saronni saying that Aru has disappointed the team and that he shouldn't even have been at the race in the first place.

Team principal, Douglas Ryder had this to say about the signing: "I am excited to have Fabio join our team; to have a rider who has won a Grand Tour in the Vuelta, been 5th in the Tour de France and twice on the podium of the Giro adds a lot to our teams development as we continue to strive to win on the world’s biggest stage; to inspire hope and create opportunity.

"Fabio’s passion and love for cycling can be seen in the way he races and I think in our unique team we will see him rise again, as I am sure we will get the best out of each other."

With Fabio Aru out of contract with UAE Team Emirates at the end of the year, he is rumoured to be in talks to join Mathieu van der Poel's Alpecin-Fenix outfit, which could see him relaunch his career by returning to his original discipline of cyclocross.

The Italian signed a lucrative three-year deal with the WorldTour team starting in the 2018 season, moving over from Astana, but failed to record a single win during his tenure with the squad, having been blighted by various injuries and ailments over the past few years.

Things came to a head when Aru abandoned the 2020 Tour de France on stage nine, with Giuseppe Saronni, former UAE Team Emirates boss and now advisor to the team, not mincing his words on Italian TV.

"Aru has disappointed us. He has problems, including psychological ones. He doesn’t react [positively] to the first difficulties: he goes down, he doesn’t have that character. We need to assess who has decided to bring him to the Tour de France."

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In the end Aru's poor Tour didn't matter too much as Tadej Pogačar stormed to the general classification victory, but now the Italian will search for a new home to try and revamp his career.

This destination could be a move down from the WorldTour to the ProTeam ranks, although one of the highest-profile second-tier outfits in Alpecin-Fenix.

Italian cycling magazine Inbici reports that Mathieu van der Poel's team is interested in picking up the 30-year-old for the 2021 season, and their plan would be to try and rejuvenate Aru by getting him to race cyclocross this winter, the discipline he raced as a youth rider.

Then, when the road season rolls around, Aru would become the team's focus for stage races while the likes of Van der Poel, Tim Merlier and Dries De Bondt can focus on their preferred one-day Classics.

The hope would be to aid the team in accumulating points to rise up the UCI rankings, with the top ProTeam being given an automatic invite to all WorldTour events. There had apparently been talks that Alpecin-Fenix might acquire CCC's WorldTour licence when they leave the sport at the end of the year, but that was snapped up by Circus-Wanty Gobert.

In other transfer news, Gazzetta dello Sport report that Astana's Miguel Ángel López is said to be on his way to Movistar, the Kazakh team's boss Alexander Vinokourov announcing in September that he couldn't afford to keep him on their roster.

It had previously been reported that Ag2r La Mondiale were looking at signing the Colombian, the French team receiving a new influx of cash as they take on Citroën as a sponsor next year, but this now seems unlikely.

Ag2r La Mondiale have picked up Ben O'Connor, however, the Australian NTT rider impressing after taking a stage at this year's Giro d'Italia.

UAE Team Emirates have already replenished their ranks with Rafal Majka, who's moved over from Bora-Hansgrohe on a two-year deal with Wilco Kelderman heading to the German team from Sunweb, while Sep Vanmarcke swaps EF Pro Cycling for Israel Start-Up Nation.

Former Vuelta a España winner Fabio Aru says he cannot explain the surprise physical capitulation that forced him to abandon stage nine of the Tour de France in the Pyrenees.

A fast and frantic start to the stage couldn't have helped, but the Italian was struggling from the off, riding in front of the broomwagon before relenting and abandoning the race.

Aru, now 30, has struggled to find consistent form in since joining UAE in 2018, and missed a period of the 2019 season to have surgery for a constricted iliac artery, which was causing him to lose power in his left leg.

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After a 2020 season which has flown under the radar somewhat, Aru came to the Tour de France to try and help his 21-year-old team-mate Tadej Pogačar in the overall competition. And while Aru was forced to give up the Tour on Sunday's stage, Pogačar jumped up two places overall and took victory on stage nine.

Aru said post-stage that he cannot understand what happened to him during the stage, saying that he had been feeling good as recently as the end of Saturday's stage eight. On stage six earlier in the week, Aru even went on the attack and looked to be riding towards a semblance of the form that helped him win the Vuelta in 2015 and finish twice on the podium of the Giro d'Italia in 2014 and '15.

"I really don’t know what is happening to me, I have no answers and this makes me suffer." Aru explained.

"I approached this Tour de France on my toes, and I had worked well. Not to go for GC, but to help Tadej in the best possible way and maybe, who knows, get some chances of my own if the opportunity arose. I had put in a series of encouraging performances in the run-up to this Tour de France, except the bad day I had in Lombardy.

"My training data also showed optimism in returning to a condition that allowed me to perform well, certainly the best numbers in the last three years.

"Also yesterday, talking to the team doctor, I told him that I was feeling better, and that I was confident for the rest of the race.

"Now I am here, stuck in a hole, without really understanding why."

The Sardinian is UAE's first rider to abandon the Tour, which has been a successful one for them so far. Alexander Kristoff took a surprise victory on a treacherous opening day in Nice to claim the first yellow jersey of the race, with Pogačar doubling up on the team's stage wins on Sunday as he continues to impress with some aggressive riding in the mountains.

Aru, whose contract with the team ends following this season, will now have to watch the remainder of the race from home. He wouldn't be drawn on what the future holds for him, saying he was still trying to come to terms with another disappointment.

"I feel like I do not deserve this because I have always been an exemplary professional and given my maximum commitment. The team does not deserve this either and I suffer a lot in not being able to make my contribution as I would like to. My future? Well I’m not thinking about it right now. I’m still processing the disappointment of today.”

Former UAE Team Emirates boss and now advisor to the team Giuseppe Saronni was seemingly unsympathetic to Aru's plight, and did not hold back when discussing him on Italian TV in the immediate aftermath of his abandon, saying: "Aru has disappointed us. He has problems, including psychological ones. He doesn't react to the first difficulties: he goes down, he doesn't have that character. We need to assess who has decided to take him to the Tour de France."

Fabio Aru is optimistic that 2020 will be the year he re-finds the form that saw the Italian win the 2015 Vuelta a España and finish runner-up at the Giro d'Italia.

After a difficult couple of years, which culminated in the UAE Team Emirates rider missing the 2019 Giro d'Italia to have leg surgery on a constricted iliac artery, he believes he will be back challenging at the front of the peloton for major honours next season.

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"I think I lost two years because of my condition," Aru told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "But I am convinced I can get back to my previous climbing levels."

His 14th place finish at the 2019 Tour de France, his first Grand Tour back after surgery, has given him belief going forward and means he will target Grand Tour victories and the Tokyo Olympics during the season ahead.

"I know I have the legs to stay with the top guys. After the operation I finished 14th in the Tour de France. You don't finish in that place by chance," Aru said.

"My target for 2020 are Grand Tours and the Olympics. I performed well in Rio. I'll do anything to be called up."

Age-wise, Aru finds himself in between ageing Grand Tour champions such as Chris Froome (Ineos) and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and young guns Egan Bernal (Ineos) and Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck - Quick-Step). However, having been in the WorldTour since 2012 the Italian fears no-one, and is looking forward to working with his UAE Team Emirates' own young upstart Tadej Pogačar.

"I am not scared by anybody because in the past I had battles with both Contador and Froome in their prime," he said. "Pogacar is strong, we can have fun together."

Aru remains level-headed though, and if his form doesn't live up to his self-belief, the climber says he may consider stepping back from the sport entirely.

"If I'm not able to compete with the best I will think about taking a step back. I don't like to scrape along," Aru said, but regardless of any doubts the Italian is ready for the new season, and is eyeing up Tirreno-Adriatico as well as the rumoured return of the Tour of Sardinia.

"If the Giro di Sardegna comes back after Tirreno-Adriatico as has been rumoured, I will be at the start," Aru said.

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) says he remaining 'realistic' at the Tour de France 2019 following his comeback after an operation.

The Italian took four months off racing earlier this year to have an operation on a constricted iliac artery in his left leg, which has caused his performances to dramatically fall from where they had been in the past. Aru struggled through the 2018 Giro d'Italia before abandoning on stage 19, which he called "one of the darkest moments of my career."

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Following a successful operation in March this year, the 29-year-old returned to racing at the Swiss one-day race Gran Premio Città di Lugano before riding the Italian National Championships road race and the Tour de Suisse ahead of the Tour de France.

While he has been unable to show the attacking flair that won him the 2015 Vuelta a España and take two podium spots in the Giro d'Italia in 2014 and 2015, Aru has been able to remain for large parts of the race in the front group among the main GC contenders.

He currently sits in 17th place overall at 14-15 down on race leader Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step), under three minutes behind his team leader for the race Dan Martin who sits in 15th place overall.

Aru says he is pleased with his performance at the Tour considering the level of racing and how much he has missed of the season, however adds that he is trying to not get ahead of himself as he continues rebuilding following his stint on the sidelines.

“The pace held in the final over the last two days was really high and it was impossible for me to do more than what I did, I just miss this kind of fatigue in my legs," Aru said following the final weekend in the Pyrenees.

"Also yesterday [stage 15] we went very strong all day and I stayed there at the front of the race as long as I could: we know that I lack a certain type of work and that my condition can only grow. I am the first one to always expect so much from myself but I think it is right to be realistic too: we are at the Tour de France, one of the most demanding races, and I have been coming from several months without racing, so it is really difficult to be competitive.

"What really interests me is to grow and get out of these three weeks with a good condition, in view of the upcoming events. Today we rest and then we will see how to interpret the last week of this Tour, which promises to be very, very hard."

The Tour now heads into a rest day on Monday with two transition stages to the Alps on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday however, the race heads back into the mountains with a stage over the the Col d'Izoard and the Col du Galibier before a downhill finish into Valliore. There are then two difficult summit finishes to Tignes and Val Thorens to complete the GC fight in the Tour.

Italian Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) "couldn't really pedal" but took a Mavic neutral service bike to continue in the Tour de France.

In stage three Épernay, the Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) with the yellow jersey had been dropped. Aru, at that time, suffered a mechanical when George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) rode into his rear derailleur

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"Yeah, it broke the whole derailleur and it was impossible to ride ahead," Aru told Cycling Weekly.

"I jumped on the Mavic bike. Usually, Rui Costa has more or less the same frame size, so I can use his bike, but he was near Dan Martin at that time."

Mavic stopped with its distinctive yellow bikes, this year they are Canyon frames. Aru jumped on, but could only ride for two kilometres.

"That bike! I had to get on the Mavic bike right away because of the barrage holding off the team cars because the yellow jersey had been dropped," Aru continued.

"It was working somewhat for me, but the saddle was way too high for me to really continue. I couldn't really pedal!

"I've had to do this before in other races. The only thing is that if the saddle's a little too low, you can still pedal and ride, but if it's too high, you can't go! It's hard to do ride."

The UAE Team Emirates car quickly arrived with another Colnago bike for Fabio. He switched and continued. With the change, he finished 1-22 minutes back on stage winner Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) and 51 seconds behind the group of classification riders with Geraint Thomas (Ineos).

Former Vuelta a España winner Aru, 29, has only just returned to racing after missing the Giro d'Italia to have surgery for a constructed iliac artery in his leg. He raced at the Tour de Suisse before starting the Tour, where he will likely support Irishman Dan Martin to a high placing in the overall.

Martin sits 1-22 back on the yellow jersey after losing time in the stage two team time trial in Brussels.

Fabio Aru will return to Grand Tour racing after undergoing surgery for a constructed iliac artery in his leg as he heads up the UAE Team Emirates squad heading to the 2019 Tour de France.

The Italian will return to the race for the first time since finishing 5th in the 2017 edition and will be hoping to ride better than his 21st place at the recent Tour de Suisse, where he made his return to racing following the operation.

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The rest of the eight man squad that will accompany Aru on the French Grand Tour will consist of Dan Martin, Rui Costa, Alexander Kristoff, Sergio Henao, Sven Bystrøm, Jasper Philipsen and Vegard Laengen.

The team's main sprinter Fernando Gaviria, who picked up the stage one victory and first yellow jersey at the 2018 Tour, will miss this year's race after failing to recover from a knee injury in time.

Aru was forced to miss the 2019 Giro d'Italia after it was announced in March that Aru was to have an operation to correct the condition that can leave riders with the feeling of their leg cramping up, losing power as their blood struggles to circulate.

"From a certain point of view, I can only be relieved to have highlighted the problem," Aru said at the time, "on the other hand, I am angry about the bad luck that has fallen on me for the umpteenth time and that will force me to miss the Giro d’Italia again."

Aru continued: "I will work to try to put an end to this dark period as soon as possible."

The 2015 Vuelta a España winner was referring to the past few years where he has been unable to replicate the form that saw him not only win the Spanish Grand Tour that year but also pick up second place at the Giro d'Italia.

Aru missed the 2017 Giro d'Italia after a crash in training prior to the race, while also suffering through the 2018 Italian Grand Tour before abandoning on stage 19.

At the 2018 Vuelta Aru caused controversy after crashing and cursing the team’s bike sponsor live on television, later apologising to Ernesto Colnago.

As the 2019 season rolled around, Aru's numbers began to worry both the rider and his team, with Aru's left leg feeling weak when he went all-out, with medical tests revealing a constricted iliac artery.

"This relatively rare condition is found in professional cyclists given the position adopted on their bikes and can develop progressively over a period of several years," said team doctor Jeroen Swart.

After the successful surgery, Aru returned to racing at the Tour de Suisse, where he finished 21st overall as Egan Bernal (Ineos) beat Rohan Dennis (Bahrain-Merida) by 19 seconds.

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) is to return to racing after recovering from surgery earlier this year that saw him forced out of competing for four months.

The Italian will make his comeback at the GP Lugano, a Swiss one-day race, on June 9.

"I’ve followed the prescribed rehabilitation program to recuperate physical strength after the surgery," Aru said. "I’ve had nothing but good sensations and I haven’t encountered any problems."

Speaking ahead of his comeback, he added: "In light of this and in agreement with the medical and technical staff, we have decided that it will be useful to participate in the GP Lugano to try out my racing rhythm.

"After that we will evaluate the situation to see what our next step should be."

In March of this year it was announced Aru would undergo surgery for a constricted iliac artery in his left leg, meaning he would miss the Giro d'Italia 2019. At the time, Aru said he could "only be relieved to have highlighted the problem but on the other hand, I am angry about the bad luck that has fallen on me for the umpteenth time."

The incident followed a 2018 that the 28-year-old called "one of the darkest moments of my career" after he abandoned the Giro d’Italia with mysterious problems, crashed and cursed his sponsors in the Vuelta a España, and pulled himself out of the running for Italy’s World Championships team.

At the 185.6km GP Lugano, Aru will be accompanied by Tadej Pogačar, who last raced in the Tour of California where he won the overall classification, as well as Jan Polanc who comes fresh from wearing the pink jersey for a couple of days at the Giro d'Italia.

Diego Ulissi, Marco Marcato, Tom Bohlli and Aleksandr Riabushenko will complete the lineup for UAE Team Emirates.

Vincenzo Nibali, Domenico Pozzovivo (both Bahrain-Merida) and Michael Albasini (Mitchelton-Scott) are among the other riders set to line up for the category one race on Sunday (June 9).

Italian Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) will miss the 2019 Giro d'Italia, facing surgery for a constructed iliac artery in his left leg.

The 2015 Vuelta a España winner had already begun his season, but now must sit out for up to four months.

"From a certain point of view, I can only be relieved to have highlighted the problem; on the other hand, I am angry about the bad luck that has fallen on me for the umpteenth time and that will force me to miss the Giro d'Italia again," Aru said.

"I will work to try to put an end to this dark period as soon as possible."

The dark period spanned the past years. Aru sat out the 2017 Giro d'Italia that began on his home island of Sardinia due to a crash in training. Last year, he suffered through the race and abandoned on stage 19. After exams, he said that he is not gluten intolerant, but his body struggles to absorb pasta and carbohydrates.

The Vuelta a España did not go well and that frustration showed when he crashed and cursed the team's bike sponsor live on television. Then he pulled out of the running for the Italian national team heading to the World Championships.

The numbers in 2019 began to worry him and the Emirates team.

"It is a feeling that I feel when I have to go all-out, while the symptom disappears at a medium pace, so much so that in training I get the basic numbers," Aru added.

"After the start of the season, Aru again encountered difficulties in getting up to that normal level that he and the team hoped for," team doctor Jeroen Swart said. "Recently, Fabio developed more specific symptoms related to his left leg: he felt feelings of weakness in the limb after intense training and in race efforts.

"In view of these symptoms, further medical tests have shown a constriction of the iliac artery in his left leg. This relatively rare condition is found in professional cyclists given the position adopted on their bikes and can develop progressively over a period of several years."

Other riders had the same problem in recent years - including Joe Dombrowski (EF Education First) - and have returned to racing. The upcoming surgery will see Aru miss upcoming races the Volta a Cataluyna, the Giro di Sicilia and his season goal, the Giro d'Italia.

"In the coming days, with a date to be determined based on the availability of the hospital, Aru will undergo angioplasty surgery at the Nuovo Ospedale di Prato, after which he will have to observe an absolute rest period of one month," said Swart. "For something like this, the return time is estimated at three or four months."

Aru said, "I thank the team for the closeness shown this year and a half and for working with me to find the solution to the problems that have plagued me. We really hope this is the final chapter."

He last won in the 2017 Tour de France and wore the yellow jersey. Since joining UAE Team Emirates, his best result has been a fourth place in a Tirreno-Adriatico stage.

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) aims to hit restart in the 2019 season after his "darkest moments" yet cycling in 2018.

The Sardinian abandoned the Giro d'Italia with mysterious problems, crashed and cursed his sponsors in the Vuelta a España, and pulled himself out of the running for Italy's World Championships team.

"I want to cancel 2018, one of the darkest moments of my career," Aru told La Gazzetta dello Sport when he reflected on his plan to race the 2019 Giro d'Italia this May.

One year ago, Aru built for the Giro as well. He never found his form and struggled throughout the race to show that spark that allowed him to place second overall to Alberto Contador in the 2015 Giro or win the 2015 Vuelta a España.

He rode steady throughout the 2018 Vuelta, but a crash stood out in the three weeks. He created a media storm when he stood from his fall and began cursing his team-sponsored Colnago bike.

A new season programme, coaches and trip to the US give him a fresh approach to 2019. He will need it because the Giro d'Italia, May 11 to June 2, includes top contenders – from Tom Dumoulin to Vincenzo Nibali – and plenty of time trial kilometres mixed with mountains.

"Mamma mia it's a beautiful start list... but that's the way it has been for years now," he said.

Team Sky's Geraint Thomas, the Welsh winner of the Tour de France last year, is rumoured to start as well. Team-mate Chris Froome won the 2018 Giro, the first Brit to do so.

"I have never hidden that this race is in my heart, you feel unique emotions," Aru continued.

"The programme is set until the Giro. For the Tour, we'll see. It is important to start [the season], and immediately."

He said that his struggles to absorb pasta and carbohydrates well led to some of his problems. He now limits their intake and avoids dairy products.

UAE Team Emirates also shook up the team. New directors Allan Peiper and Neil Stephens arrived and coaches from the University of Colorado now follow the team.

After Aru races in Mallorca, Algarve and Catalonia, he will train at altitude in Colorado, in the US, for his final push towards the Giro.

"We are followed by coaches from the University of Boulder, our head coach Iñigo San Millan has lived there for years. And, coincidentally, I had my first race in the pros, as an stagiaire: it was the Tour of Colorado 2012, I finished second in a stage," Aru said.

"I'm getting along very well with the new staff and coaches. I like that the human aspect, serenity, is taken into consideration, even before preparation and performance.

"Too many times we talk about numbers, we think too much about the tests and watts, but to reach these numbers you have to feel good and be calm. And now I feel good."

Fabio Aru has taken the decision not to ride the 2018 World Championships road race after struggling with his form this season.

The Italian confirmed he had reluctantly given up his place on the national team ahead of the elite men’s road race on Sunday.

Aru has struggled with his form this season, putting in a poor performance at the Giro d’Italia due to allergies and then not being selected for the Tour de France.

>>>UCI Road World Championships 2018: dates, route, where to watch and more

The UAE Team Emirates rider said: “In recent week and in recent races I have tried to do my best to give meaningful signals, in view of the Worlds.

“Unfortunately, my condition is not the one I would like to have.

“Reluctantly, after consulting with [Italian team manager] Davide Cassani, I made the decision to renounce the call of the Italian national team..

“It is a painful choice, but is based on my love and respect for the Italian jersey.”

Aru finished in 23^rd place at the Vuelta a España, more than an hour down on British winner Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott).

The Italian is the latest favourite to pull out of the World Championship road race, after Australian leader Richie Porte also announced he would not be riding.

Aru said: “I think it is right to leave room for those who, at this moment, can count on a better condition.

“I wish the best to my colleagues who will try to keep the colours of the Italian flag high on the Innsbruck race route.”

This year’s World Championships will see the elite men tackle 5,000m of climbing over the 258.5km course.

The men’s race will start in the town of Kufstein and begin with seven circuits of 24km of the ‘Olympic Circuit’ before heading northwards towards the Hungerburg settlement in the north where they’ll hit a climb featuring 25 per cent sections.

The men’s peloton will then head back towards the centre of Innsbruck where the race will conclude.

The Italian riders tackling the slopes of Innsbruck at the World Championships later this month have been announced.

Racers featuring in the Italian squad this year include strong climbers like Fabio Aru and Vincenzo Nibali, as well as Team Sky’s Gianni Moscon.

Climbers are finally being given their shot at the world title, as the course features over 5,000metres of altitude gain.

The Italian coach Davide Cassani has confirmed seven of the eight riders featuring in the squad, reports Gazzetta dello Sport.

A final rider will be selected from a shortlist of four.

Cassani told the Italian newspaper: “Vincenzo is not the man to beat at the World Championship in Innsbruck.

“We must be optimistic. We are not favourites but we can surprise.”

Nibali has been targeting the Worlds, but his hopes may have been dashed after a crash on the Alpe d’Huez stage of this year’s Tour de France.

The Bahrain-Merida rider suffered a broken vertebra on the final slopes of stage 12, but returned to racing at the Vuelta a España.

Also riding in the Italian colours will be Gianni Moscon, who took victory at the Coppa Agostoni on Saturday.

Moscon has just returned to racing after a five-week ban for violent conduct.

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) has also been named for the Worlds team.

Aru crashed hard on stage 17 of the Vuelta a España after his chain became stuck.

The seven confirmed riders are Aru, Nibali, Moscon, Franco Pellizotti, Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida), Damiano Caruso and Alessandro De Marchi (BMC).

There are also four riders on the shortlist to take the final spot – Gianluca Brambilla (Trek-Segafredo), Dario Cataldo (Astana), Davide Formolo (Bora-Hansgrohe), and Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain-Merida).

Competition will be stiff in Austria for the men’s road race, with the Yates brothers (Mitchelton-Scott) headlining the British team, and Colombia sending a stacked lineup of climbing talent.

Italian teams for World Championships 2018

Elite men’s road race

Fabio Aru (EAE Team Emirates)

Damiano Caruso (BMC)

Alessandro De Marchi (BMC)

Gianni Moscon (Team Sky)

Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida)

Franco Pellizotti (Bahrain-Merida)

Domenico Pozzovivo (Bahrain-Merida)

plus either Gianluca Brambilla (Trek-Segafredo)

Dario Cataldo (Astana)

Davide Formolo (Bora-Hansgrohe)

or Giovanni Visconti (Bahrain-Merida).

Elite mens's time trial

Alessandro De Marchi (BMC)

Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo)

Elite women's road race

Sofia Bertizzolo (Astana)

Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5)

Elena Cecchini (Canyon-SRAM)

Erica Magnaldi (BePink)

Soraya Paladin (Alé-Cipollini)

plus two from Tatiana Guderzo (BePink)

Elena Pirrone (Astana)

Nadia Quagliotto (Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo)

or Rossella Ratto (Cyclance)

Italian Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) apologised to famous bicycle builder Ernesto Colnago overnight for his comments after crashing in the Vuelta a España's stage 17.

"Cazzo di bici!" Aru yelled several times after crashing in a curve. The television camera had immediately stopped with Aru and picked up the phrase – sh*t bike! – for all viewers to hear. Aru added the rear derailleur had blocked, yelling at team manager Joxean Fernández Matxin.

>>> Burgos-BH rider Jordi Simón taken to hospital after crash with team car on Vuelta a España stage 17

"If you crash a 70 kilometres an hour you certainly don't say, 'Ah, such a crash, bummer!'" Matxin told Cycling Weekly. "No this is the proper reaction to crash because you're upset when you hit the ground so quickly.

"It was a reaction based on how he felt at the time and afterwards he said sorry to the team and to Ernesto and to everyone. But we know that this happens and it's not just him but everybody else it's just a reaction when you crash as 70 kilometres an hour. I've heard many worse things out there on the road."

The negative publicity certainly does not help relations in between the Italian builder and the UAE team. Earlier this year, reports had the team giving up Colnago bikes to use Bianchi for 2019. However, over the last month they agreed with Ernesto Colnago to continue into 2019.

Aru telephoned Cambiago, Italy, last night to speak with Signor Colnago and make amends.

"He was deeply sorry for what happened," Colnago told Tutto Bici. "I know that in these moments, you're full of nerves. I told him to look ahead, to think only of keeping calm and riding like he has in his best days.

"You know how many riders in these 60 years who've raced on my bikes. You know our story. I understand everything and everyone, but this is a very bad episode, which hurt me. I accept the apologies, but I ask everyone for respect. Fabio understood."

Aru hit the curb hard, his shorts were ripped and blood ran down his backside. He continued, finishing 14-14 minutes behind the stage winner Michael Woods (EF Education First-Drapac) on the Balcón de Bizkaia climb.

"I took an impact to my lower back, which worries me, as well as the pain," Aru said. "We were descending at 70kmh and it could have been a lot worse.

"I apologise for how I reacted after the crash but adrenaline was running, I was aching and you lose the control sometimes. I hope to recover quickly."

The Sardinian is struggling this 2018 season, not showing the same form that won him the Vuelta in 2015.

He began the Giro d'Italia in May to give his new team a win. He seemed off the entire race and abandoned on stage 19. After several exams, he said that he is not gluten intolerant, but his body struggles to absorb pasta and carbohydrates well.

The Vuelta, which was meant to be his comeback, has not made the 2018 season any better for Aru.

"We are in the Vuelta now and at the end of the season we will sit down calmly and think about how we're going to approach the new season," Matxin continued. "We haven't yet had a chance to sit and think about that."

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) "lacks the kick" that his Vuelta a España rivals have after a 2018 season of difficulties.

The Italian is struggling in the Vuelta, not showing any of the brilliance that won him the race in 2015. A crash on stage two only made matters worse.

"I am already distanced in the GC," he told Cycling Weekly.

"I lack that kick in the final, that's what I lack. Truly, I lack the rhythm of the strongest riders, I still haven't found it.

"The only thing to do is remain focused and live day by day and see how it goes. Maybe I'll get better day after day to stay with the top riders."

The Sardinian began the Giro d'Italia this year with the idea to give his new UAE Team Emirates a win. He could not start the 100th edition the year before, which departed from his island, due to a crash in training beforehand.

The Aru spark, however, could not be found this May. He had won three mountain stages over the years and placed second overall in 2015 behind Alberto Contador. The 2018 edition was nothing like the past and he abandoned on stage 19.

After several exams, he said that he is not gluten intolerant, but his body struggles to absorb pasta and carbohydrates well. He limits their intake and avoids dairy products.

"That's part of life," said sports director Philippe Mauduit when asked about Aru's highs and lows over the years. He worked with Alberto Contador in team Tinkoff-Saxo Bank and Vincenzo Nibali in team Bahrain-Merida.

"All champions in their career they have these 50/50 moments, where you don't know what's going wrong. He has to accept that because next year he'll be strong like he was in the past. I have no doubt about that."

Aru rebuilt for the Vuelta, resuming racing again at the Tour de Wallonie in July before racing the Tour of Poland. He began the Vuelta in Málaga with visions of success but crashed on stage two, when rivals like Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky) began to fire, and he dropped back even further.

In the first big mountain finish to La Covatilla, he lost 40 seconds. Now, he must look ahead to this weekend's mountain stages in Asturias to see if the overall classification is out the window. He currently sits 13th overall at 1-49 minutes behind leader Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott).

"I'm not putting a number on it, on any goal," Aru added. "It's been a difficult season for me, a little particular where I still haven't found the same pedal stroke as my competitors so we need to see if it will arrive."

Aru's former captain and fellow Italian Vincenzo Nibali, is returning to form in the Vuelta after fracturing a vertebra in the Tour de France. He is slowly looking like 'The Shark' that won all three Grand Tours over the last eight years. With his return, a stage win is possible and a role as leader in the Italian national team for the World Championship road race. Aru, asked about the Worlds, is unsure.

"The Worlds, it's always an honour to put on the maglia azzurra, but I don't know if it's possible to be in the team," Aru said.

"You need to be going strongly to race in the team, so, for now, when I am not going as I'd like, it's hard to say."

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) recognises the high-level competition in the Vuelta a España, starting tomorrow in Málaga, but aims for a good result to punctuate a poor season.

"To say there was nothing wrong is pushing it because at the Giro d'Italia, I was not very well," Aru told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I paid for that. But there are still two more important months.

"I hope for a good result in the Vuelta a España. I rode the Tour de Wallonie, the Tour of Poland, and I was always at the front where I wanted to be. I did some good work. For sure, though, the level is high here."

The competition may not include Team Sky's Chris Froome or Geraint Thomas, who are racing the Tour of Britain after successful grand tour campaigns, but the start list still contains several star names alongside 2015 winner Aru.

The roll-call of general classification hopefuls includes 2010 champion Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Movistar's Alejandro Valverde and Nairo Quintana, both past winners, Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), Richie Porte (BMC Racing), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Rigoberto Urán (EF Education First-Drapac).

"Valverde," Aru responded after taking a long pause to think about who he felt was the race favourite. Asked about a possible surprise winner, he said, "Mikel Kwiatkowski, given how he is going. In Poland, he was strong. He can race for the classification."

Sardinian Fabio Aru skipped the Tour de France after abandoning the Giro d'Italia "completely empty" in stage 19. The Italian champion began the Giro in May as a favourite but never showed the form that had won him the 2010 Vuelta or that allowed him to win a stage and wear the yellow jersey in the 2017 Tour.

"Throughout the spring, I never felt good," Aru said in June. "I have always pushed to get into form, and that led me to overdo it."

After the Giro, Aru underwent several exams. He said that he is not gluten intolerant, but his body struggles to absorb pasta and carbohydrates well. He limits their intake and avoids dairy products.

"There are not crossroads in life," said Aru in Málaga yesterday. "Look at Thomas, no one would have said that he was going got win the Tour... Not every season is the same, life is like that.

"For sure, who wouldn't want to always win? I'd like to break everyone, but we are talking about sport, where there is high and low moments."

Quizzed as to whether he felt any pressure to obtain a result in Spain, he said: "No, I'm calm. Logically, it's a very important race, but it's not the last big one of the season."

Fabio Aru (UAE Team Emirates) will skip the Tour de France after abandoning the Giro d'Italia empty, aiming instead for the Vuelta a España later this summer.

The Italian champion began the Giro d'Italia in May as a favourite but never showed the form that had won him the 2015 Vuelta a España or that allowed him to win a stage and wear the yellow jersey in the 2017 Tour de France.

>>> Tour de France 2018 start list

And even with that joy of wearing the famous maillot jaune in 2017, he cannot return in 2018.

"I thought about it, because I have a great desire to redeem myself immediately, but I came out of the Giro in disastrous physical conditions," Aru told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"It's better to rest and start again for the final part of the year. 2018 is not finished, I still have the Vuelta, the Worlds, the Italian Classics, Lombardia. I can still prove myself."

He will also not defend his national title this Saturday at the road championships.

Aru last raced the 19th stage of the Giro d'Italia, the same day Chris Froome (Sky) cracked previous race leader Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) to ride away solo for the stage win and pink jersey.

Aru will restart with the Tour de Wallonia on July 28. After that, the Tour of Poland before beginning in the Vuelta a España on August 25.

"In the last part of the Giro, I felt completely empty, bloated, without strength. I was never good. When your body does not work well, you can put all your mental strength into it, but you can't go forward," he continued.

"We decided to change some things. I had so much altitude training, the three camps turned out too many. This training demolished me, and my body asked me for the bill. I arrived at the Giro almost finished.

"I learned that I have to race more, not for the results, but to face different races from my characteristics, to get that racing feeling."

Aru sat through several exams after the Giro. He said that he is not gluten intolerant, but his body does not absorb pasta and carbohydrates well and so limited their intake and eliminated dairy products.

"But it was not only the cause of my performance. Throughout the spring, I never felt good," Aru added. "I have always pushed to get into form, and that led me to overdo it."

Fabio Aru has finally confirmed that he will race in the 2018 Giro d'Italia in May, saying that the decision was made 'with conviction'.

The 27-year-old Italian national road race champion had been mooted late last year to ride the Giro, leading UAE Team Emirates in the three-week Grand Tour.

However, it was only on Monday that Aru finally stated that he would line up for the race in a brief statement issued on his personal website.

"My choice to participate to the Giro d’Italia has been done with conviction, evaluating all the variables: I wanted to ponder well this important decision, constructively confronting myself with the team," said Aru.

"I’m happy to go back on the roads of the Giro which, for an Italian athlete, is a race that offers special emotions.

In addition, this year I will participate with the Italian national champion jersey on the shoulders: one more reason to honor the ‘Corsa Rosa’."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWVoFpEyh_I

It will be the first time that Aru has raced in his home tour since 2015, when he finished as runner-up Spaniard Alberto Contador. That was Aru's second appearance on the Giro's podium after his breakthrough ride in the 2014 race which saw him place third.

Aru won the Vuelta a España in 2015, proving his Grand Tour winning ability.

In the past two seasons, Aru has focussed on the Tour de France, where he finished fifth in 2017.

>>> Giro d'Italia 2018: Latest news and race info

No firm announcement has been made as to whether Aru will tackle the 2018 Tour. He was joined on UAE Team Emirates roster by GC rider Daniel Martin for 2018, and it is possible that both could ride the Tour.

Aru will face stiff competition in the 2018 Giro, as he will line up against defending champion Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) and Chris Froome (Team Sky) – pending the latter's unresolved case for an adverse analytical finding for salbutamol at the 2017 Vuelta.

The 2018 Giro d'Italia starts in Jerusalem, Israel on Friday, May 4, and concludes three weeks later in Rome on Sunday, May 27.

Aru will make his 2018 race debut at the Abu Dhabi Tour, starting on Wednesday, February 21.

It appears as though Fabio Aru has been issued with a new team jersey after controversy erupted over the first version of his Italian road race national champion colours with new squad UAE Team Emirates.

The team had posted a photo of Aru in his new Italian champions jersey as part of its unveiling of 2018 team kit. However, many fans had branded the jersey as unacceptable as the Italian tricolore stripes were pushed far down the jersey, below a large sponsor's logo.

"The worst national champs jersey I have ever seen. Yuck!" said one Twitter user, while another commented "Poor Fabio, how can you ruin the Italian jersey like that."

With the controversy brewing, Italian paper Gazzetto dello Sport reported that Aru had said that this was not a final version of the jersey.

Subsequently, Aru posted a photo of himself on a training ride with a seemingly redesigned jersey with the tricolore given far more prominence and the sponsor logo much reduced. The tricolore also features on the sleeve cuffs.

>>> Fabio Aru joins UAE Team Emirates on a three-year deal

It's not the first time that a team's version of a national champion's jersey has caused an upset among cycling fans.

Aru's former Astana team-mate Vincenzo Nibali sported a 'reduced' Italian national champions jersey in 2014, which featured bands in the centre for the tricolore.

Aru himself had an all green/white/red national champions jersey at Astana when he became Italian national champion in 2017.

Complaints were also aired by fans after Team Sunweb unveiled Ramon Sinkeldam's Dutch national champion's jersey, with the stripes squeezed in among the logos.

Sinkeldam has now moved to French team FDJ for 2018, where national champions' jerseys are devoid of any large sponsor logos and given top-to-bottom bands.

Here we have the rather fine looking Argon 18 Gallium Pro, belonging to Astana rider Fabio Aru.

The frame is something of a featherweight, weighing a supposed 794g, which will have certainly helped Aru when he attacked, and dropped, the likes of Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana and Richie Porte on stage five of the Tour de France.

Other frame updates include a new, 27.2 seatpost for added compliance and the frame can now accommodate 28mm tyres. In 2017, however, Aru only stretched to 25mm rubber, and we won't see if he'll ever make the move to bigger tyres on the bike having switched to UAE Team Emirates for 2018.

It's a bold bike in that bright red paint job, but it's a significant colour for Aru. He chose it as it reminds him of his 2015 Vuelta a España win, and is supposed to represent his ability to win again, giving him the inspiration he needs.

That stubby little stem is quite significant, too, and Aru forgoes the usually long and low mantra of the professionals, instead opting to run a 100mm one that attaches to his 42cm bars.

The Argon 18 Gallium Pro has a pretty special headset, too. The company's 3D headset technology means there are three different head tube sizes available at every frame size, with additional spacers to boot.

His FSA K-Force chainset isn't exactly easy to spin, which makes his win on La Planche des Belles Filles even more impressive. He runs a 53/39 up front and 11-28 cassette on the rear.

His derailleurs are Shimano's older Dura-Ace Di2 models, and the front one is held to the bike by a new, ultra-light, riveted hanger.

Inside the chainset is Aru's Power2Max power meter and right next to it is an inbuilt chainsuck protector, to guard that lavish red finish.

His bike rolls along on Corima S+ wheels, which are 47mm deep front and rear. His Prologo saddle and bar tape also have interesting reflective strips intended to highlight the importance of road safety.

Fabio Aru has challenged Chris Froome to focus his attention on the Giro d'Italia in 2018, although the Italian rider himself is yet to fully commit to the same move.

In an interview with Italian newspaper Gazetta dello Sport, Aru said that he would like to see Froome race the Giro for only the third time in his career, thinking that it would help to raise the profile of the race.

"I've heard that he is thinking about it [riding the Giro]", said the Italian, who will be riding for UAE Team Emirates in 2018 after six years at Astana. "Froome is a great champion and really tough I'm hoping that he will be at the Giro, that will make the race even more prestigious. I like big showdowns."

>>> Comment: Is Chris Froome really going to go for the Giro-Tour double in 2018?

However despite calling on Froome to ride the Giro, Aru said that he is not 100 per cent sure that he will be on the start line in Jerusalem on May 4, only having planned the first part of his 2018 season, although he is expected to be at the race.

"If I'll be at the Giro, I can't be sure... I'll definitely be at the Abu Dhabi Tour but I don't know if that will be my first race of the season," he continued.

Watch: Tour de France 2018 route guide

Aru also said that he will be riding Tirreno-Adriatico, as well as the Tour of the Alps and the Vuelta a España as he focuses on a string of mountainous stage races to prepare for a lumpy World Championships road race course in Innsbruck at the end of the year.

The Giro d'Italia 2018 route will be announced on November 29, with the race expected to feature at least one further time trial in addition to the one on opening day, something that race organisers RCS Sport hope will attract Chris Froome to the race.

>>> Chris Froome should aim to win all three Grand Tours in 2018, says Giro d'Italia director

Despite being just one Tour de France win away from matching the likes of Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault on a record five Tour victories, rumours have persisted in recent months that Froome could return to the Giro in 2018, especially with an unusual Tour de France route featuring minimal time trialling, cobbles, and gravel roads.

Froome won the 2017 edition of the Tour after spending most of the second half of the race in the yellow jersey. Fabio Aru was the only rider from outside Team Sky to wear the yellow jersey during the race, but faded during the final week to finish in fifth overall.

Astana manager Alexander Vinokourov has said that the team will be seeking damages from Fabio Aru after he left for fellow WorldTour team UAE Team Emirates.

Italian champion Aru will leave the Kazakh team for UAE after agreeing a three-year deal that was announced in October, but Vinokourov says they will begin legal action over the transfer.

According to Vesti.kz back in July, Aru had an extension clause with Astana that would see him only leave if a team offered more than 20 per cent than he was offered by them.

Vesti.kz also reports Vinkourov as saying that the legal action would come because Aru left the team too late in the year, leaving them unable to source a GC replacement.

"It will now be up to the lawyers, because he left us no choice," Vinokourov said. "He should have said [about leaving] right after the Tour de France in order to make an amicable agreement."

"There was still time after the Tour de France, we could have used the budget to sign another rider such as Uran," he added. "But knowing just two weeks ago meant it was impossible to sign anybody, all the riders are signed. Therefore, the lawyers will decide things.”

UAE have made a number of big signings for 2018, including fellow GC rider Dan Martin to perform alongside Aru, while Alexander Kristoff is also expected to ride with the team next year.

Astana meanwhile will now have to look to this year's Critérium du Dauphiné winner Jakob Fuglsang and double Vuelta a España stage winner Miguel Angel Lopez for their GC hopes. They let Mikel Landa leave for Sky in 2016, before Vincenzo Nibali jumped ship to Bahrain-Merida at the start of this year, and they will now see Aru move on to UAE.

Vinkourov confirmed that the team would seek compensation, regretting the way Aru ended his time with the team.

"We are going to demand some compensation from him for the damage caused because we were left without a top rider," Vinokourov said.

"We are grateful for him having spent so many years in our team so it’s unpleasant but he chose this way,”

Fabio Aru has been signed by UAE Team Emirates on a three-year deal, starting in the 2018 season.

Official news of the move ends months of speculation, confirming that the current Italian national road race champion will leave Astana at the end of 2017.

Aru will join UAE Team Emirates as a Grand Tour leader along with fellow new signing Dan Martin. The 27-year-old has enjoyed solid Grand Tour results since joining Astana in 2012, winning the 2015 Vuelta a España overall after finishing second in the Giro d'Italia earlier that year.

He posted his highest placing at the Tour de France in July 2017, finishing fifth overall behind overall winner Chris Froome (Team Sky), claiming a stage win and wearing the yellow jersey of race leader.

>>> UAE Team Emirates ‘just days away’ from announcing Fabio Aru deal; Dan Martin also likely to join

UAE Team Emirates manager Carlo Saronni said: "We welcome a champion like Fabio Aru; his skills perfectly match the ambitions of the team.

"Besides highlighting Aru’s enormous potential, I’d like to point out that Aru is a rider who can stir up excitement among the fans; he is well-loved because of his generosity on a bike.

"With his performances he will contribute to promoting an ideal team image and he will likely help us reach important competitive milestones."

Watch: Fabio Aru wins Tour de France 2017 stage five

Aru said that he hopes he lives up to the team's expectations.

“I’m honored that the UAE Team Emirates management and their sponsors want to unite our cycling endeavors; I thank them for the faith they’ve placed in me and I hope to live up to their expectations," said Aru.

"I would also like to thank everyone who has been with me up to now in my career, they’ve all been important to my growth."

Aru and Martin join several new signings for WorldTour-level UAE Team Emirates for the 2018 season, which includes Norwegian Tour of Flanders and Milan-San Remo winner Alexander Kristoff.

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.

"I know it's going to be the usual horrendous race, the toughest stage race of the 2017 season," Aru told Tutto Bici. "The typical Vuelta with uphill finishes, short and intense efforts, only a few massive mountain stages, but many stages with 20% finals."

>>> Seven things to look out for at the Vuelta a España 2017

Compared to the Tour de France's three summit finishes this year, the Vuelta a España route includes over next three weeks. They begin with stage five to Ermita Santa Lucía in Alcossebre and fall evenly throughout.

Stage 15 will finish at 2510 metres in Sierra Nevada and stage 20 will climb the Angliru, a frequently visited monster with 23.5% gradients. New for 2017, organiser Unipublic is including the Los Machucos forest service-type road, with poor cement slabs and pitches up up to 31 per cent.

In an attempt to balance the course, the race will start with a 13.7-kilometre team time trial and also includes an individual time trial on stage 16, measuring 40.2km to Logroño.

Watch: Vuelta a España 2017 essential guide

Froome trained at altitude in the French Alps, but Aru, fifth overall in the Tour, opted to stay at his home in Lugano, Switzerland.

"I recharged the batteries and looked after myself, while keeping a close eye on nutrition and the usual details," he said. "I had steady rides, but without excessive loads. Anyhow, coming out of the Tour, you have base condition."

It could be Aru's last big race with Astana. After six years, insiders say that he will be moving to UAE Team Emirates for the 2018 season. The deal is reportedly already signed.

>>> Cycling transfers 2018: All the ins and outs from the WorldTour

"My relations with Astana were not tense before and they aren't now. With my agent/lawyer, we're analysing a solution for the future. Soon you will know everything," Aru said.

"Meanwhile, however, there is this Vuelta and I have a good team, with a young prospect like [Miguel Angel] Lopez, several climbers, and a team captain like Luis León Sánchez. I have everything to do well. The future will begin after Madrid, in fact after Lombardia, my last finish line of the season. "

UAE Team Emirates look set to announce the signing of Fabio Aru in the coming days, with Dan Martin and Domenico Pozzovivo also possibly joining the team.

Cycling Weekly understands that Aru has already inked a deal already with the Arab team, with Martin and Pozzovivo also possibly a part of the planned announcement.

"Many teams want them would like to have them," team manager Carlo Saronni told Italian website Tutto Bici when asked about Pozzovivo and Martin.

"Negotiations are underway, some things have yet to be defined, but in the coming weeks, or rather, in the coming days, we can say precisely. Let's say that at least a couple of riders are near the finish line and soon our backers will celebrate the arrival of new high quality, winning, riders."

>>> Cycling transfers: All the ins and outs from the WorldTour

Quick-Step Floors rider Martin rode to sixth place behind Chris Froome (Team Sky) at the Tour de France last month, and has been linked with a move to UAE Team Emirates for a number of weeks

Another possibility is that Martin signs with Trek-Segafredo, the American WorldTour team being in search of another GC rider after Alberto Contador announced he will retire after the Vuelta a España.

Pozzovivo could potentially add climbing strength to the Grand Tour team that UAE would take to the Giro d'Italia or Tour de France to support Martin and Aru. Cycling Weekly understands the deal is nearly ready to bring the Italian from Ag2r La Mondiale.

Watch: Vuelta a España essential guide

The team, run by Saronni's father Giuseppe, is also bringing on board sprinter and Classics rider Alexander Kristoff. However South African stage race talent Louis Meintjes will leave the team after it was announced that he will ride for Dimension Data from 2018.

Aru would leave Astana after six years, a spell which included a Vuelta a España title in 2015 and a runner-up spot in the 2015 Giro d'Italia. He recently placed fifth overall in the Tour after suffering with illness in the final week.

"That we are interested in him is no longer a mystery, who would not like to put the class of Aru into a team project? For such an important rider it is right to prepare a proper proposal in every detail, at the moment, I can only confirm that we are working to develop the best possible proposal," Saronni said.

>>> Fabio Aru confirmed as Astana leader for upcoming Vuelta a España

"The operation is complex because it involves a broader project with more people. We need to find the right balance between our team's needs and the priorities that Aru has repeatedly mentioned as necessary to enable him to reach the maximum goals.

"In short, work is under way to arrive at a proposal that takes into account what I have just mentioned. We are almost ready to present our proposal to the Sardinian: a comprehensive, complex and complete project."

Fabio Aru has been confirmed as Astana's leader for the upcoming 2017 Vuelta a España which will start in Nîmes, France on August 19.

Aru, who won the Vuelta in 2015, will lead the team after a good performance at the Tour de France where he finished fifth overall and spent two days in the yellow jersey.

The Italian rider has had a tumultuous season, which was expected to centre around the Giro d'Italia, until a knee injury put him out of his home Grand Tour and forced him to focus on the Tour.

>>> Vuelta a España route 2017: key climbs and what to expect

The addition of Aru to the Vuelta a España start list makes for a very strong line-up for the final Grand Tour of 2017, with Chris Froome (Team Sky), Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), and both Simon and Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) expected to take to the start line.

The full Astana line-up will be announced in due course, but will certainly included young Colombian Grand Tour prospect Miguel Angel Lopez, as well as Luis Leon Sanchez and Pello Bilbao.

Italy's Grand Tour star Fabio Aru, currently fourth in the Tour de France, will leave Astana at the end of the 2017 to become on of a number of riders to join UAE Team Emirates in 2018, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper.

Aru has agreed to a three-year deal that will keep him in the Arabian team through 2020. However in line with UCI rules, general manager Giuseppe Saronni cannot confirm the signing until August 1.

The deal will be worth around €3 million annually, according to Cycling Weekly's sources.

The team is also said to have confirmed Italian Elia Viviani, who wants to leave Team Sky early to race Grand Tours for stage wins, and Irishman Daniel Martin from Quick-Step Floors.

Saronni said "no comment" when asked of the news this morning. Of course, he needs a replacement for South African Louis Meintjes. The 25-year-old, currently eighth in the Tour, has reportedly singed a deal with home WorldTour team Dimension Data with Mark Cavendish and Steve Cummings.

The Aru deal would beef up Saronni's new team, which abandoned the Lampre sponsorship over the winter for a last-minute deal with the United Arab Emirates and the airline giant Emirates.

Watch: Tour de France stage 17 highlights

Aru won a stage in the Tour de France and held the yellow jersey for two days so far this year. He also claimed two stages and second overall in the 2015 Giro d'Italia and of course, the 2015 Vuelta a España victory.

With Aru leaving, Astana must look elsewhere. They are due to welcome Norwegian sprinter Alexander Kristoff, whose relationship with Katusha-Alpecin is on the rocks. It will also need a Grand Tour star.

Rigoberto Urán, currently second in the Tour, is top target for general manager Alexandre Vinokourov. The 30 year-old Colombian began racing in Italy and his fluent Italian is likely to help him fit in quickly at the team.

Frenchman Warren Barguil, winner of the Tour's stage to Foix and likely mountains classification victor, is also on Astana's radar for 2018.

Barguil is out of contract and if he is to have a chance to ride the Tour as leader, he may need to leave Team Sunweb who are likely to back Tom Dumoulin at the Tour in 2018..

Expect a long-range attack from Sardinian Fabio Aru (Astana) if he wants to win the 2017 Tour de France, says Team Sky.

Sky's Chris Froome leads the race by 27 seconds on both Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale). Aru, who lost 31 seconds on stage 17, trails at 53 seconds.

Only four stages are left to race, including the summit finish to the Col d'Izoard on Thursday and the stage 20 time trial on Saturday in Froome's favour.

"From a time trialling point of view, he's taking a step back and he's going to have to go long if he wants any chance of winning the race," Sky boss David Brailsford told Cycling Weekly.

"It's a big ask for him to gain that back and you can expect a long-range attack if he really wants to ride to win."

Aru won the 2015 Vuelta a España when he and his Astana team-mates overhauled Tom Dumoulin on the final mountain day.

However, to have any chance of winning the 2017 Tour de France, Aru not only has to take the race lead tomorrow over Froome but do so with around one-minute's advantage.

The final 22.5-kilometre time trial tilts the Tour in favour of Froome.

"If Chris has a 30-second advantage going into the time trial, then we'd take that," added Brailsford.

Sky dominated the opening time trial by winning with Geraint Thomas and putting four of its nine men in the top 10. Froome placed sixth.

"It's all set up not for a great day. A race to top of it is a lot different to a race to the top with a long descent [like the Galibier to Serre-Chevalier], so the competition of the race is a lot different."

The Tour has never finished at the Col d'Izoard, where Louison Bobet and Fausto Coppi once ruled. Froome, however, will be ready as he has previewed the famous pass at 2360 metres.

"It's Romain Bardet's race to win," say team Astana after their captain Fabio Aru lost 31 seconds to leader Chris Froome (Sky) in the Tour de France's 17th stage to Serre Chevalier.

>>> Five talking points from stage 17 of the Tour de France

Froome leads Colombian Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac) and Frenchman Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) by 27 seconds in the overall classification with four days to race. On Thursday, they finish on the Col d'Izoard, the race's final summit finish.

"If someone is strong tomorrow, he has to go," Astana sports director Dimitri Fofonov told Cycling Weekly.

"We are there in the running with Fabio and we will see what will happen, I hope Fabio is there to do so, but at this point it's Bardet's race to win. He is ready to take on the big fight."

The 26-year-old placed second overall behind Froome in the 2016 Tour.

Bardet attacked Froome's yellow jersey at least three times on the famous Col du Galibier during stage 17. Froome responded always with Urán. Sky team-mate Mikel Landa, fifth overall, lost pace but returned and worked for his leader.

Sardinian Fabio Aru lost contact near the top. He trailed around 10 seconds back and lost more on the descent, coming over the finish line 31 seconds back.

"For sure, I can't be content," Aru said while warming down in his Italian championship jersey.

"But the Tour finishes on Sunday. For sure, not a great day for me, but this is cycling and you have to accept these days when you lose.

"We were at a certain altitude. When [Dan Martin] attacked, I didn't have the energy to respond, and that was it."

Bardet followed Dan Martin's (Quick-Step) move with several digs. He appeared most alive and most likely to ride clear on the Col d'Izoard summit finish on stage 18.

"Bardet was strong today, he made all the selection today. Froome wasn't great today, he wasn't in trouble, but he had trouble to take him," Fofonov added.

"Landa returned to make the pace. Also Urán, we never talk about him, but he's always there and he's responding to attacks when he need too."

After the Izoard stage, the Tour continues with medium mountain stage, a time trial in Marseille in Froome’s favour and a flat stage to Paris on Sunday.

Tour de France leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) came under pressure during stage 15 of the race on Sunday after losing contact with his rivals on a key climb.

Froome first lost contact with the front of the contenders group on the category one Col de Peyra Taillade with 32km to go before immediately suffering a puncture. A roadside wheel change saw him having to fight to regain contact with the group containing rivals Fabio Aru (Astana) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r).

>>> Tour de France 2017: Latest news, reports and race info

However, the British Sky leader made the junction with the help of team-mate Mikel Landa to retain his position at the top of the general classification ahead of Aru.

Meanwhile, the stage victory came from the day's escape group, with Dutchman Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) taking a solo win. Diego Ulissi (UAE) led home the chasers for second, with Tony Gallopin (Lotto-Soudal) in third.

Big group on the attack

The day kicked off with an escape group instigated by polka-dot jersey holder Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb) in the hunt for mountains points with four classified climbs on offer.

Barguil's group were joined by a further group headed up by team-mate Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb), to swell the break to 28 riders. Included were several representatives from squads who have so far come up empty-handed at the 2017 Tour – Katusha-Alpecin, Cofidis and Bahrain-Merida included.

Damiano Caruso (BMC) was the highest-placed overall of the riders in the break, starting the day at 11-26 behind Froome – so no immediate threat for the overall.

Barguil crested the first two classified climbs – Montée de Naves d'Aubrac and Côte de Vieurals – in pole position to scoop up the points, and Matthews was first over the intermediate sprint at the stage's mid-way point at Sant-Alban-sur-Limagnole. He now closes the gap on green jersey Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors).

With 62km to go, world time trial champion Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin) picked his moment to attack, launching a solo move in an attempt to time trial to the finish. By 50km to go, Martin had opened up quite a gap on his former escape companions and was nine minutes ahead of the bunch.

Moment of panic for Sky

The first set-back of the day for Froome came at 40km to go, as Ag2r hit the front of the peloton and opened up a gap. Froome and Sky were caught out and had to chase hard to regain contact. Then disaster struck again, when Froome had a mechanical and had to stop at the side of the road and swap rear wheels with Michal Kwiatkowski.

The Ag2r-led group forged on ahead, leaving Froome to be paced by Sergio Henao and Vasil Kiryienka in an attempt to try and catch up with the contenders group as they hit the slopes of the Col de Peyra Taillade. Nieve then dropped back to help Froome, but swung off to leave Froome to catch up on his own, accompanied by an unpleasant number of boos from roadside spectators.

Meanwhile, Tony Martin cracked on the climb, went backwards and was caught and passed by Barguil, continuing his hunt for mountains points at the top of the climb.

Landa – fifth overall at the start of the day – then dropped out of the contenders group with 34km to go to pace up Froome. The move meant that Sky were putting all of their eggs into one basket – but it worked, as Landa and Froome rejoined the contenders.

Ag2r kept up the pressure, with Alexis Vuillermoz leading team-mate Romain Bardet on his 'home' roads. On his wheel were Froome, Landa, Aru, Daniel Martin (Quick-Step Floors), Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac), Simon Yates (Orica-Scott), Louis Meintjes (UAE) and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo).

One rider who was absent, and again looking in bad shape, was Nairo Quintana (Movistar). The Colombian dropped off the pace of the front group relatively early on the Col de Peyra Taillade.

Over the top of the Peyra Taillade, Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) attacked from the reformed escape group on the descent and towards the day's final classified climb of Côte de Saint-Vidal. The Dutchman powered on, opening up a significant gap with 15km to go. By this point, he was 50 seconds ahead of the chasers and over six and a half minutes ahead of the GC contenders group containing Froome, Bardet and Aru.

Having seen that they had not shaken off Froome, the Ag2r-led GC group eased off a little allowing the Sky leader to recoup some energy. It didn't last long as Yates attacked on the Côte de Saint-Vidal, causing a frantic chase – and he was reeled in before the top.

Then it was Dan Martin who launched a move on the flat after the climb, with little reaction from the rest of the GC group.

Mollema continued on to take the stage victory, with Ulissi sprinting from a group of four chasers to take second.

By the finish, Dan Martin managed to open up a gap of 14 seconds to his rivals, to claw back some valuable time as Froome led in the rest of the GC favourites with a determined sprint – job done for another day.

Froome still leads Aru by 18 seconds overall, with Bardet in third at 23 seconds. Uran is fourth at 29 seconds – slim differences at the end of two weeks of racing.

Martin moves up to fifth overall at 1-12, moving Landa down to sixth. Yates keeps hold of the best young rider's jersey in seventh spot. Quintana dropped out of the top 10 after his bad day, with Caruso moving up to 10th overall after his effort in the break.

The 2017 Tour de France takes its second rest day on Monday, when the riders will be able to recoup their energy after another bruising stage. Then it's on to the Alps in a gruelling final week before the race concludes on Sunday, July 23, in Paris.

Results

Tour de France 2017, stage 15: Laissac Sévérac l’Église to Le Puy en Velay, 189.5km

1. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo, in 4-41-47

2. Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates, at 19 seconds

3. Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto-Soudal

4. Primoz Roglic (Slo) LottoNL-Jumbo, at same time

5. Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Sunweb, at 23 secs

6. Nicolas Roche (Irl) BMC Racing, at 1-00

7. Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie, at 1-04

8. Jan Bakelants (Bel) Ag2r La Mondiale

9. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ

10. Serge Pauwels (Bel) Dimension Data, at same time

Other

25. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floor, at 6-11

27. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 6-25

28. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 6-25

31. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 6-25

46. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 10-19

General classification after stage 15

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, in 64-40-21

2. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 18 secs

3. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 23 secs

4. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, at 29 secs

5. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 1-12

6. Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, at 1-17

7. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 2-02

8. Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates, at 5-09

9. Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo, at 5-37

10. Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing, at 6-05

Other

11. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 6-16

In the aftermath of the frantic finale of the stage into Rodez, which saw Chris Froome retake the yellow jersey from Fabio Aru, the atmosphere around the Team Sky bus was a mixture of delight at seeing a tactical plan work to perfection and disbelief at the amount of time the Italian ceded – a substantial 24 seconds, giving Froome the lead by 18.

Sky boss Dave Brailsford acknowledged that both the Rodez stage and the previous one into Foix had gone perfectly for the team, but also admitted that their plans may have been assisted by Aru.

>>> Chris Froome: 'I never dreamt I'd take 24 seconds out of Aru'

“It wouldn’t surprise me if he had let the yellow jersey go to take the pressure off himself and his team,” Brailsford told reporters in Rodez.

“But, having said that, I don’t suppose he wanted to lose the amount of time he did.”

Watch: Tour de France stage 14 highlights

Speaking to NBC Sports directly after the finish, his Astana teammate Michael Valgren explained that he had tried to lead Aru up through the bunch before it reached the tricky uphill finale. Valgren added that the Italian kept losing his wheel.

>>> Fabio Aru on losing Tour de France lead: 'I paid for being in a bad position'

Valgren then asked the reporter if Aru had lost the lead. When told he had, the Dane said "good" and smiled broadly. However writing on Twitter after the race, Valgren clarified his comments after some took them as a slight at team leader Aru.

Aru and members of the Astana management team dodged questions of whether they had pulled off a tactical coup of their own. The Italian admitted he had been poorly positioned but stressed that there are still plenty of opportunities for him to strike back.

With the pressure now back on Froome and Sky to do control the race, Aru can now focus on following their wheels and biding his time until an opportunity to gain significant time on the British race leader emerges.

Italian Fabio Aru (Astana) slips out of the Tour de France's yellow jersey in stage 14 to Rodez today, paying for his "bad position" in uphill kick while Sky's Chris Froome rode back into the lead.

Aru went from six seconds ahead to 18 seconds back, losing 24 seconds to the group with Froome in the short 500-metre uphill sprint.

"I was a little too far behind," said Aru. "I was in the second group behind, I made a huge effort to get up there and I paid.

"At 1.5 kilometres remaining, the group was already broken up. I was behind, I closed it, but it was too late."

>>> Chris Froome sensationally retakes Tour de France race lead as Matthews wins stage 14

Australian Michael Matthews (Sunweb) topped the stage results.

Froome was the most attentive of the grand tour riders. He finished seventh in a group with Daniel Martin (Quick-Step Floors) and Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac), while Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) lost five seconds and Aru, 24 seconds.

"It happens [to find yourself in a bad position]. They are situations in the race, it's important to continue and not lose my path," Aru added.

"I saw that [the times when coming over the finish line], it's not a lot, but then it's nothing to laugh at. The race, though, is still pretty much open.

"Logically, I'd prefer to keep it, but yeah, the last week will be very demanding, so not everything is lost."

The 27-year-old from Italy's island of Sardinia took the yellow jersey from Froome two days ago when the race finished at Peyragudes. Froome lost 22 seconds in the last 200 metres.

"When it kicks off at that speed, the last 500m à bloc, it's hard and Van Avermaet or Gilbert are used to it," Astana Team Manager Giuseppe Martinelli added.

>>> Chris Froome: ‘I never dreamt I’d take 24 seconds out of Aru’

"I saw that he was immediately behind, but it's useless to say move up, move up when they are going that strongly. If you take the climb at the back of the group, it's easier to be caught out, but then 18 seconds seems like a lot, but on the climbs he can recover it."

Astana admits it is suffering from a weakened team. Helper Dario Cataldo and co-captain Jakob Fuglsang abandoned in the last few days due to fractured bones.

"I'm sorry that he lost time, but it's not a drama. I think that if today was an off-day for us, then it could happen to the others in the days coming up," continued Martinelli.

"I believe in Fabio for the Alps, and of course, tomorrow, the race will be in Sky's hands and we can be calm."

Aru said of being down two helpers, "It's just something that happened, but we are going to go ahead all the same in this Tour.”

A joyous Chris Froome (Team Sky) was in a state of shock at reclaiming the yellow jersey after stage 14 of the Tour de France.

Froome put 24 seconds into Astana's Fabio Aru as the Italian relinquished his lead on a dramatic finish in Rodez, when he was unable to keep pace at the front of the group on the final, steep 500m climb. As a result, Froome leads Aru by 18 seconds.

>>> Chris Froome sensationally retakes Tour de France race lead as Matthews wins stage 14

For Froome and Sky it represents a return to the top of the general classification standings far sooner than they anticipated, having originally lost the lead in the Pyrenees on stage 12.

"We knew this morning there would be gaps, but I would never have dreamt I'd be taking 24 seconds out of somewhere like Aru." the three-time Tour winner said. "If you said I would take 24 seconds, I wouldn't have believed you.

"I didn't expect to be back in yellow by the end of today's stage. We knew the final was going to be selective, but I didn't expect to be taking these time margins off some of my contenders [for the overall]. That is incredible.

"It's an amazing feeling, especially after such a tough day for me two days ago in the Pyrenees. It's really unexpected. It's nice to bounce back again."

>>> Analysis: Froome and Landa’s Tour de France strength could be a problem for their rivals – or for Team Sky

While it is typical of riders to applaud their teammates after winning a stage or becoming the leader of a race, Froome repeatedly pointed out the work of Michal Kwiatkowski in the last few hundred metres, stressing that without the Pole he wouldn't have been aware that Aru was struggling.

"I wouldn't be in this position without the work they did in the finale. Especially Kwiatkowski, he was just amazing," Froome added.

"I didn't know where Fabio Aru was but the last few hundred meters Kwaitkowski, the last guy with me, was shouting. He was shouting on the radio a lot, saying 'Chris, go, go, go, you've got a gap, there's big splits.'"

Stage 15 takes the peloton across mountainous terrain on an undulating parlours to Le Puy-en-Velay. It is the type of stage that lends itself to breakaway success, but with the general classification so tight, and so many riders fancying their chances, GC splits are expected once again.

"Tomorrow is the last day before the next rest day and I think it will be hands on deck again and I think it will be war," Froome predicted.

Race leadership means that Sky will, once again, be expected to take control of the race. That brings with it its own stresses, which Astana realised on stage 13. But Froome is pleased that his team will be in charge again.

He said: "Yesterday the race was in bits with Astana trying to control it. They didn't have the numbers and as a consequence the race blew apart.

"I like to think when we were on the front, the race seemed calmer and there was a more relaxed feeling in the peloton so hopefully we go back to that. But having said that I expect a lot of attacks tomorrow as it’s a long stage."

Chris Froome (Team Sky) turned the tables on Tour de France general classification rival Fabio Aru (Astana) on Saturday, finishing what should have been a relatively innocuous day 24 seconds ahead of Aru to regain the yellow jersey of race leader.

Aru looked as though he was out of position, struggling and crucially without team support on stage 14's hilly final kilometres, and came across the line well down on Froome.

Froome started the day six seconds behind Aru, but the 24-seconds difference on the line saw the British rider leap 19 seconds ahead of Italian Aru overall. Romain Bardet (Ag2r) retained his third spot overall, at 23 seconds.

>>> Tour de France 2017: Latest news, reports and race info

In the battle for stage honours, Australian Michael Matthews capitalised from solid work by the Sunweb team throughout the day to take the victory in Rodez by over a bike length. Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) took second with Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) in third.

A day of two halves

A group of four riders formed an escape group early on in the stage as it left Blagnac, comprising Timo Roosen (LottoNL-Jumbo), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Maxime Bouet (Fortuneo-Oscaro) and Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie) in his final Tour.

The quartet were given plenty of room by the peloton and swiftly built up a lead. The almost leisurely pace of the bunch allowed Reto Hollenstein (Katusha-Alpecin) to break free and bridge over to the four in front to make a five-strong group after 14km.

The quintet's gap over the bunch then yo-yoed between two and three minutes as the peloton kept them in close check.

After a relatively flat first half, the stage became hillier and featuring two category three climbs, Côte du viaduc du Viaur and Côte de Centrès, with a further uncategorised climb nearer the finish and a rise to the line. Many of the teams had their eye on the stage as the final 30km were identical to the stage to Rodez in 2015, won by Van Avermaet. Classics rider territory.

As the riders hit the two categorised lumps, the make-up of the race started to change. Many riders started to get dropped from the bunch, including green jersey Marcel Kittel (Quick-Step Floors), Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) and British national champion Steve Cummings (Dimension Data).

In the break, De Gendt and Voeckler dispensed with their breakaway companions on the Côte de Centrès. De Gendt swept up the maximum KOM points on both climbs to move himself up to second in the mountain classification behind Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb). Over the top of the climb, De Gendt dropped Voeckler to go solo.

BMC and Team Sunweb massed at the front of the peloton heading towards the finish, working for Van Avermaet and Michael Matthews respectively. With 30km to go, De Gendt was one and a half minutes ahead of the reduced peloton, but his advantage was chipped away until he was caught with 13km to go.

On the twisting roads into the finish, Maurits Lammertink (Katusha) launched an attack followed by Damiano Caruso (BMC), Nikias Arndt (Team Sunweb) and Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fortuneo-Oscaro).

Team Sky and Quick-Step Floors riders joined the chase at the front of the peloton and the late attack was reeled in.

As Van Avermaet, Matthews, Boasson Hagen and Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) battled for the stage honours on the final climb,  Froome and fellow GC contenders Daniel Martin (Quick-Step Floors) and Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) were right behind them.

As the lead group crossed the line, the clock started ticking down... 10 seconds... 20 seconds and no sign of Aru. The Italian looked to be struggling, and came in 24 seconds adrift of Froome, his time in the yellow jersey over... for now.

The 2017 Tour de France continues on Sunday with a tricky stage from Laissac-Sévérac l'Église to Le Puy-en-Velay. The route features four categorised climbs, including the category one ascents of Montée de Naves d'Aubrac and Col de Peyra Taillade, the latter only 30km from the finish and featuring ramps of 14 per cent.

Alberto Contador's Trek-Segafredo team suffered a setback during stage 14 as Fabio Felline withdrew from the race during the stage. There were no other abandons.

Results

Tour de France 2017, stage 14: Blagnac to Rodez, 181.5km

1. Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb, in 4-21-56

2. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing, at same time

3. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data, at 1 sec

4. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Quick-Step Floors

5. Jay McCarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe

6. Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain-Merida

7. Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky

8. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors

9. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, at same time

10. Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at 5 secs

Other

11. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 5 secs

13. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 5 secs

20. Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, at 15 secs

30. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 25 secs

General classification after stage 14

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, in 59-52-09

2. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 18 secs

3. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, at 23 secs

4. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, at 29 secs

5. Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, at 1-17

6. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 1-26

7. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 2-02

8. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 2-22

9. Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates, at 5-09

10. Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo, at 5-37

Tour de France race leader Fabio Aru (Astana) says that he knew Team Sky's Mikel Landa would try to attack and gain time in the overall classification today in stage 13.

Landa gained time on Aru and on his team-mate Chris Froome when he followed a move by Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo). The Italian in yellow saw it coming.

"For sure, he was a bit far behind so I knew he would try something today but I couldn't follow everyone," Aru said. "Now, considering where he is at on GC, I will give him less freedom."

Landa jumped from seventh to fifth, cutting 1-46 into Aru's overall lead. Aru, with an even weaker team now that Jakob Fuglsang abandoned with a fractured elbow and wrist, must keep an eye not only on three-time winner Froome, but also Landa.

>>> ‘Chris Froome’s still the Team Sky boss’: Mikel Landa to continue in domestique role at Tour de France

The two raced two years together in Astana. In the 2015 Giro d'Italia, Landa worked for Aru, but when his leader suffered, he looked poised to take over and take on Contador. Aru rebounded, but Landa took home two mountain stages and a third place overall. Sky took notice and signed the Basque that off-season.

"Well for sure, I know Mikel Landa very well, he is a very strong rider, but it was a special stage today," Aru continued. "Landa being three minutes down on GC this morning, the distance between us was bigger than it was in the cases of the other riders.

"Landa obviously had a good race, I don't know how Team Sky will work that out later between Landa and Froome, but we will also worry about that later."

Watch: Tour de France 2017 stage 13 highlights

Aru held his ground in the short 101-kilometre stage, the last this year in the Pyrenees. Besides Landa with his long-range move, only Daniel Martin (Quick-Step Floors) and Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) were able to make any ground. They gained nine seconds on the descent to Foix.

"I was expecting attacks from all of the riders and I followed, all of those who were closest to me on GC," added Aru.

"Chris remains one of my direct rivals, because it is very tight. I was expecting Chris to attack in the last kilometres uphill, and he also attacked in the downhill.

>>> Fabio Aru fends off Chris Froome’s attacks to retain Tour de France lead as Warren Barguil wins stage

"I looked at keeping under control those who were closest to me, so it was another very hard stage but I am happy with the way it went."

Aru should hold the lead through stage 14, but will be under fire again in stage 15 on Sunday. If he keeps the famous yellow jersey or maillot jaune, the next test should come in the Galibier stage after the second rest day.

Chris Froome (Team Sky) tips team-mate Mikel Landa as "a real threat" for the Tour de France's overall fight after the dust settled on the Pyrenean stages 12 and 13.

Landa jumped from ninth to seventh and from seventh to fifth overall over the last two days. Today on the short and punchy stage to Foix, he looked ready to take yellow jersey in a long-range power move with Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo).

>>> Fabio Aru fends off Chris Froome's attacks to retain Tour de France lead as Warren Barguil wins stage

"We saw yesterday that Mikel Landa is feeling great so it was a great card for us to play today," Froome said after riding to the team bus greeted by awaiting fans’ cheers.

"He's going well and he showed that today and he's a real threat for the overall. It's a great card for us to play especially since Astana doesn't have the numbers to control the rest."

Watch: Tour de France stage 13 highlights

Froome sits in second place at six seconds overall behind Fabio Aru (Astana). Aru, however, lost two team-mates due to injuries in the last few days: Dario Cataldo on stage 11 and Jakob Fuglsang on stage 13.

Landa, who already won a stage and the mountains classification in the Giro d'Italia in May, escaped with Contador after the first climb in the 101km stage. At first he marked Contador, then he helped him ride clear.

>>> Five talking points from stage 13 of the Tour de France

Questions persist about Froome's form after he lost the yellow jersey on stage 12, especially with Landa looking strong and gaining time in the past two day. For now, Landa holds a strategically strong spot for Sky, only 1-09 behind Aru.

"I'm very happy with today. For us with Mikel Landa moving up like that was a good situation for us. Especially with some of these big mountain stages coming up," Froome said.

"It was a great outcome for us. Mikel Landa really put in an amazing ride today. We wanted him to come back into the GC game. This could be a winning move for us in the days to come."

>>> Astana: 'Chris Froome is not as strong as he was last year'

Froome slipped out of the yellow jersey lead on stage 12 when he lost 22 seconds on the finishing climb. Today in Sky's new white jersey, he launched an attack on the top of the final climb and tried to make his way free on the descent to Foix. Nothing seemed to stick.

"It was quite a great feeling to have to go out there and try to race for the win today as opposed to racing defensively and having the pressure to defend the jersey," he said. "It felt quite nice to have the shoe on the other foot."

Warren Barguil (Team Sunweb) gave the home nation plenty to cheer about on Bastille Day with the victory on a scintillating Tour de France stage in the Pyrenees in which Fabio Aru (Astana) defended the overall lead.

The short 101-kilometre stage featured three category one climbs in its centre, with a long descent to the finish in Foix. The action started from the gun, and what followed was one of the most thrilling Tour stages in recent memory.

Frenchman Barguil took the victory from a 'dream' escape group, with a resurgent Nairo Quintana (Movistar) in second and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) in third.

>>> Tour de France 2017: Latest news, reports and race info

Chris Froome and his Team Sky squad once again applied pressure to their rivals, but in a completely different show of tactics from the previous day – putting riders into escape groups to aid Froome, rather than drilling it en masse at the front of the bunch.

However, despite having no team-mates to assist him, Italian Aru countered everything thrown in his direction to keep hold of the race lead.

Aru leads Froome by six seconds, with Frenchman Romain Bardet (Ag2r) in third at 25 seconds.

How the stage developed

Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors), Alessandro De Marchi (BMC) and Sylvain Chavanel (Direct Energie) formed the day's first break that really stuck after the start in Saint-Girons.

The trio hit the first of the day's three category one climbs together – the Col de Latrape – but De Marchi was the strongest climber, and left his two companions behind on the ascent.

>>> Five talking points from stage 13 of the Tour de France

Behind, KOM leader Barguil attacked from the peloton in an attempt to grab the mountains points on offer at the summit. Crucially, he was followed by Contador and Mikel Landa (Team Sky).

Barguil, Contador and Landa caught and ultimately left De Marchi behind, and then started to tackle the Col d'Agnes. It was here that Contador launched his move, with Mikel Landa (Team Sky) following and the two riders quickly built up a lead.

Sensing a chance to regain lost time, Quintana attacked from the bunch on the Col d'Agnes. He had Alexis Vuillermoz (Ag2r), Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) and Carlos Betancur (Movistar) for company, but Betancur was dropped as they scooped up Barguil.

With 58km to go and on the ascent of the Col d'Agnes Contador and Landa were at the front of the race, with Quinata, Barguil, Vuillermoz and Kwiatkowski chasing and the Aru/Froome group at 1-35 to Contador.

By the summit, that gap had grown to 2-40. Romain Bardet (Ag2r) attacked over the top, followed by Froome. The two got a gap, but then slowed up allowing a regrouping on the descent.

Ahead, the Quintana/Barguil/Kwiatkowski group got with 10 seconds of catching the Spanish duo of Contador/Landa, but Contador accelerated into the final climb of Mur de Péguère and the gap stretched out.

The yellow jersey group became whittled down to just the top riders, with Aru, Froome, Uran, Simon Yates (Orica-Scott), Louis Meintjes (UAE-Team Emirates), Bardet, Daniel Martin (Quick-Step Floors) and George Bennett (LottoNL-Jumbo), although Bennett was dropped before the top.

Kwiatkowski dropped back from his group, effectively waiting for Froome. Quintana and Barrguil made the junction with Landa and Contador to make a group of four in the lead.

Froome attacked in the final kilometre of the Mur de Péguère, bridging to Kwiatkowski. Aru, Uran and Bardet followed over, but the GC group was back together over the summit.

There were then numerous attacks on the fast, final descent. Froome and Kwiatkowski used their numerical advantage to keep applying pressure on Aru. Uran also had a concerted effort.

Barguil once again showed he has a strong sprint for a climber, out-pacing Quintana and Contador for the victory as Landa was distanced.

Towards the finish, Martin and Yates clipped off the front in an attempt to limit their losses in the overall classification from the four riders ahead.

Despite all of the days attacks and tactics, Froome finished with Aru in the group, meaning that Aru retained the yellow jersey and his six-second advantage over the defending champion.

Uran, meanwhile, rode himself up into third place and Froome's team-mate Landa is now fourth, with Martin in fifth and Yates in sixth.

Day's withdrawals

Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) finally left the race after battling on with injury over the past few days. Arthur Vichot (FDJ) was another withdrawal, due to illness, leaving FDJ with just four riders in the race.

The 2017 Tour de France continues on Saturday with stage 14 from Blagnac to Rodez as the race now starts to head east towards the Alps. It's a tricky stage that gently rises all day, with two third category climbs and a nasty uphill kick to the line. The race concludes in Paris on Sunday, July 23.

Results

Tour de France 2017 stage 13: Saint-Girons to Foix, 101km

1. Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Sunweb, in 2-36-29

2. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar

3. Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo, at same time

4. Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, at 2 secs

5. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 1-39

6. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at same time

7. Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky, at 1-48

8. Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky

9. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana

10. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, at same time

General classification after stage 13

1. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, in 55-30-06

2. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 6 secs

3. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale, at 25 secs

4. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, at 35 secs

5. Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, at 1-09

6. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 1-32

7. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 2-04

8. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 2-07

9. Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates, at 4-51

10. Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo, at 5-22

Fabio Aru says that a quick calculation at the end of stage 12 of the Tour de France to Peyragudes brought on the amazing joy of knowing that he would don the famous yellow jersey.

The Italian leader of team Astana was one of handful of riders who could distance previous race leader, and three-time overall victor, Chris Froome (Sky) in the final kilometre.

Froome rode up the steep gradients to the line at 22 seconds back from stage winner Romain Bardet (Ag2r). Rigoberto Urán (Cannondale-Drapac) placed second and Aru took third, and the bonus seconds that come with it – enough to take the overall race lead from Froome.

"Just past the finishing line, I looked behind," Aru said. "I had wanted to manage a better placing than third, but I have to congratulate Romain Bardet for a nice stage [win].

"I looked and saw Chris was out the back, I made two or three quick calculations and with the time bonus [four seconds], I thought I had the yellow jersey. When I realised that, it was a fantastic emotion."

The Sardinian is one of the few Italians to have worn the leader's jersey in all three Grand Tours. He won the 2015 Vuelta a España and finished third and second overall in the Giro d'Italia, having had a run in the leader's pink jersey.

>>> Chris Froome: ‘No excuses’ for losing Tour de France lead on stage 12 summit finish

He began this 2017 Tour de France to win, but Froome began as the clear stand-out favourite. A slight shift in power took pace in the Pyrenees near the border with Spain today, however. Aru went from second at 18 seconds to first overall at six seconds.

"The rhythm was so high in the stage final that I didn't see Froome very much. I didn't see him in trouble at all. Maybe he was in a little trouble in the end, but since I was not next to him or behind him I didn't see much,” Aru added.

"The finale was hard, but I just thought of making it all the way up to the finish line and now I can enjoy an indescribable emotion, wearing the leader jersey in the most important race in the world is one of the finest things that can be experienced by a cyclist."

Aru dedicated the win to his team. They are struggling through the Tour like many other teams. On Wednesday, Dario Cataldo crashed and abandoned and Jakob Fuglsang, fractured his wrist and elbow. Fuglsang continued on through the first Pyrenean mountain stage, but it remains unclear how long he will push on in the Tour.

The Sardinian leader is lucky to even be racing so highly in the Tour after his spring. A training crash and injured knee forced him to forfeit his Giro d'Italia plans and rush back to form for the Tour.

On stage 13, Aru faces what many are calling the Tour's trickiest stages. The run to Foix covers only 101 kilometres, but contains three category one climbs.

"The nicest thing right now is to enjoy the moment without thinking of tomorrow. Only tomorrow in the bus, in the team meeting, will I be thinking of the work ahead, for now we just raced 215 kilometres, which was demanding and we deserve to relax a bit."

Fabio Aru (Astana) has moved into the lead of the Tour de France by six seconds after Chris Froome (Team Sky) lost time on the race's second summit finish

At the end of a long mountain stage which came down to a final sprint for the line in Peyragudes, Aru accelerated with around 300m to go, instantly putting the yellow jersey of Froome in trouble.

Aru's burst for the line was followed by Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) on the 16 per cent slopes of the ski resort's airstrip, with Bardet coming through in the final 50m to take the stage win.

>>> Chris Froome: 'No excuses' for losing Tour de France lead on stage 12 summit finish

Meanwhile Froome struggled with the explosive effort required for the final sprint, swerving across the road as he eventually finished in seventh place, 22 seconds behind Bardet and 20 seconds behind Aru.

That result meant that Froome slipped to second in GC, six seconds behind Aru, with Bardet now just 25 seconds back in third.

How it happened

The opening 20km saw aggressive racing before a strong 12 rider move went clear. In the move were Cyril Gautier (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Imañol Erviti (Movistar), Koen De Kort (Trek-Segafredo), Stefan Küng (BMC Racing), Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates), Steve Cummings (Dimension Data), Marcel Kittel and Jack Bauer (Quick-Step Floors), Nils Politt (Katusha-Alpecin), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal), Michael Matthews (Team Sunweb) and Julien Simon (Cofidis).

That group steadily built an advantage of just over five minutes to the peloton, which was controlled by Team Sky for the flat first half of the stage as the riders endured wet weather on the way into the Pyrenees.

The only real action of the early part of the stage came at the intermediate sprint after 94km, where Matthews edged out Kittel to trim the German's lead in the race for the green jersey from 133 to 130 points.

Beyond the midpoint of the stage and Sky continued to set the pace on the Col des Ares and the Col de Menté, Luke Rowe and Christian Knees keeping the gap to the break locked at around six minutes. At the top of the climbs De Gendt took maximum points on the Col des Ares, before losing out to Matthews, trying to protect the lead of team-mate Barguil in the mountains classification, on the Col de Menté.

The valley roads ahead of the Port de Balès saw the gap drop towards four minutes, before the break started to splinter a few kilometres in to the HC climb.

>>> WorldTour transfer rumours: Aru deciding between Astana and UAE, Contador to stage at Trek

De Gendt upped the pace to shed some of the weaker climbers from the break, initially followed by Küng, Gautier, Cummings, Bauer, and Simon, before accelerating once again, a move that only Cummings was able to follow.

Meanwhile Vasil Kiryienka was working hard on the front to slowly bring down the gap to the leaders and also drop fifth place rider Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) who was suffering after breaking his wrist and elbow on a crash on stage 11.

Kiryienka pulled off with a few kilometres remaining, which seemed to be a signal for the first of the GC attacks as Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) followed a move by Warren Barguil. However the move was short-lived as Michal Kwiatkowski slowly raised the pace to bring them back.

There was also action at the front of the race, with Cummings going clear of De Gendt and setting off in search of his third Tour breakaway victory in as many years.

By the top of the climb Cummings' advantage was up to around 1-30 over De Gendt, who was then joined by Barguil on the descent before both riders were caught by the Sky-led peloton.

The technical descent saw Sky unwilling to take risks, which allowed Cummings to extend his lead out beyond two minutes by the start of the Col de Peyresourde with 15km remaining.

The main group made it all the way to the base of the Peyresourde without incident, but on the final corner to turn onto the climb Mikel Nieve misjudged a corner, going straight on between two motorhomes, leading Froome and Aru off the road too. Somehow all three riders managed to stay upright, quickly chasing back up to the rest of the GC contenders who decided to wait for the yellow jersey and his main rival.

That incident allowed Cummings' lead to stay around two minutes for the first few kilometres of the climb, the British champion looking reasonably comfortable and pedalling with a high cadence as the gradient hovered around eight per cent.

Not looking quite so comfortable was Nairo Quintana (Movistar), who was dropped early on the climb with Kwiatkowski still toiling away on the front.

>>> Dan Martin: The Pyrenees were an opportunity, but now it's just a case of survival

With 10km remaining Kwiatkowski's work was done, leaving Nieve to take over as Cummings' lead came below a minute for the first time in the race, and from there falling rapidly as he was caught just over a kilometre later.

Nieve continued to lead for the rest of the climb as the expected attacks from Froome's GC rivals failed to materialise and Contador was dropped just 500m from the summit.

The Basque rider continue to lead onto the final climb to Peyragudes, before handing over to Landa for the final two kilometres.

Landa led until around 300m to go when Aru attacked. The Italian was followed by Uran and Bardet, but Froome instantly looked in trouble, and while his rivals powered towards the line, the yellow jersey swerved left and right across the steep airstrip.

In the final hundred metres Aru was overhauled first by Bardet and then by Uran, the former taking the third Tour de France stage win of his career, while Froome fought to the line to limit his losses.

Results

Tour de France 2017, stage 12: Pau to Peyragudes (214.5km)

1. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, in 5-49-38

2. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, at 2 secs

3. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 2 secs

4. Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, at 5 secs

5. Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates, at 7 secs

6. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 13 secs

7. Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 22 secs

8. George Bennett (NZl) LottoNl-Jumbo, at 27 secs

9. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 27 secs

10. Mikel Nieve (Esp) Team Sky, at 1-28

General classification after stage 12

1. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team, in 52-51-49

2. Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 6 secs

3. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 25 secs

4. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, at 35 secs

5. Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 1-41

6. Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 2-13

7. Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky, at 2-55

8. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 4-01

9. George Bennett (NZl) LottoNl-Jumbo, at 4-04

10. Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates, at 4-51

Italian champion Fabio Aru, currently second overall in the Tour de France, is deciding between current team Astana and UAE Emirates for the 2018 season.

Alberto Contador is said to have already inked a deal to continue with Trek-Segafredo for 2018 and Louis Meintjes, 11th in the Tour right now, reportedly did so with Dimension Data, leaving UAE Team Emirates. His agent says that negotiations are still ongoing.

>>> Pro bike: Fabio Aru’s Argon 18 Gallium Pro (video)

"It's all based on this Tour, but five years in this team, he's [Aru] not going to change teams just for the sake of it," Astana team manager Giuseppe Martinelli told Cycling Weekly.

"Alexandre Vinokourov [the team's general manager] is doing everything to keep him. For sure, there are teams that want him, and when teams are out for a rider it make things difficult.

"I would like to think that Fabio understands that this is his team. He has super riders available to help him to win big races."

Aru reportedly had been asking for €3 million a year, but his agent then returned to Astana general manager Alexandre Vinokourov and said €2 million would suffice.

No deal was made and now, after the Planche des Belles Filles stage victory and second place standing in the Tour, that asking price is said to have jumped to €4 million.

Such figures are reserved for cycling's superstars and Aru has yet to achieve that ranking. Chris Froome (Team Sky) brings in an estimated £4 million [€4.54m], but the Brit has won the Tour three times already and is more marketable than Aru who only speaks Italian and draws little interest outside the Bel Paese.

UAE Emirates with Brit Ben Swift and South African Louis Meintjes stand first in line for Aru. General manager Giuseppe Saronni was unavailable when called for comment on this article.

"The Emirates is an important region and want to back this project," said sponsor liaison Mauro Gianetti. "We need to grow our team, it's true. We didn't have time last season to make those signings. It helps to approach riders with these sponsors behind you.

"We have very important sponsors, ADS, UAE and Emirates. This team has a long term plan, not just in it for one year, but for multiple seasons."

UAE Emirates had been in contact with Geraint Thomas before the Welshman re-signed with Sky this summer for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. After coming in late last off-season, the sponsors want to invest more in Saronni's team.

Such an Aru/UAE deal would not leave much room for 25-year-old South African Louis Meintjes, who is battling for the white jersey with current wearer Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) at the Tour de France.

Meintjes is reported to have already inked a deal with home team Dimension Data, which brought Mark Cavendish on board in 2016.

General manager Douglas Ryder is pushing hard for Meintjes, who left the team when it was MTN-Qhubeka for Lampre-Merida in 2016, but, Meintjes's agent has said that nothing is official yet.

Trek-Segafredo wanted Fabio Aru considering its co-title sponsor Segafredo is based in Italy. However, all negotiations have ended due to Alberto Contador.

Contador had an option, but not a formal option to continue through 2018 when he joined the team last year. Officially, the Spanish Grand Tour great will decide after the Tour.

Unofficially, Contador has already signed for 2018 and the team stopped looking for a Grand Tour stars like Aru. Segafredo made a deal so that Contador will lead its team in the 2018 Giro d'Italia.

"Fabio should stay with us," added Martinelli. "If we speak about that team [UAE], for sure, they have less big riders to help than we do here.

"Vinokourov is going to do all he can to have him remain here. Now, though, we want to aim at doing well in this Tour and be competitive like we are in this moment."

Simon Yates has described Fabio Aru's  attack while Chris Froome suffered a puncture on stage nine of the Tour de France as a "dirty move" and said that riders "should have respect for each other".

Aru attacked just beyond midway up the 8.7km climb of Mont du Chat, just as Froome raised his hand to indicate to the team car that he had suffered a rear puncture.

The Italian said that he didn't see Froome's puncture or his hand go up before going on the attack, an assertion that Yates described as "absolute bulls***."

>>> Rigoberto Uran wins in photo finish as Froome keeps lead on dramatic Tour de France stage nine

Froome was able to get a spare bike and ride back up to Aru, who had been followed by the other main contenders, but that didn't seem to changes Yates's interpretation of the attack.

"I think it was a dirty move," the Orica-Scott rider said after the finish. "I don’t like what he did but this is a bike race and he can do what he wants."

"I can’t find the words to say. It’s not something that you do. We should have respect for each other. Chris had a problem there, he wasn’t getting dropped and there was still a long way to go in the stage.

"I’m not going to have any grudges but maybe some of the other guys will do. From what I saw it wasn’t the correct thing to do."

Yates finished in 11th place on the stage, in the same group as Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors), 1-15 behind the front group having managed to avoid crashing on the descent which saw Richie Porte hit the deck and abandon the race with a broken pelvis and collarbone.

"I think the organisers wanted to spice things up," Yates said referring to stage nine's unconventional route, featuring narrow climbs and descents which rarely feature in the Tour.

"They’ve seen Sky set the tempo the last few years and they want to spice things up, with small technical roads. I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with that and it makes for exciting racing."

Watch: Tour de France stage nine highlights

>>> Richie Porte out for at least four weeks with fractures after Tour de France crash

Yates now holds the white jersey for best young rider by nearly three minutes over Louis Meintjes (UAE Team Emirates), despite suffering on the final climb and being dropped by the yellow jersey.

"It was another level today. I’m pretty tired and I gave it everything. I almost got dropped from my group but I’m happy with my ride. I gave everything that I had.

"I’m looking forward to the rest day because I’m absolutely f*****. Sorry. I don’t know another word to describe it."

Tour de France race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky) says that any suggestion that he swerved right purposely towards Fabio Aru (Astana) on stage nine is "crazy."

The incident followed an attack from Aru on the Mont du Chat when yellow jersey Froome had his hand in the air to indicate he had a mechanical problem.

>>> ‘A dirty move’: Simon Yates slams Fabio Aru’s decision to attack Chris Froome

Aru attacked passed him and, without cooperation from the others and Froome speeding back with his team-mates, eased up.

In a right-hand hairpin afterwards, the three-time British winner of the Tour swerved towards Aru and forced him close to the fans on the right to avoid falling.

"Once I got back to the group I think the very next hairpin we went round I lost my balance a little bit and swerved to the right," Froome said during Monday's rest day.

"Aru happened to be on my right and he had to swerve as well. It was a genuine mistake and I think Fabio was the first to recognise that. I apologised straight away on the road as soon as it happened.

"Any suggestion that it was on purpose is just crazy – first of all it's not anything I would ever do, and I was already on my spare bike, so to risk putting my derailleur into Aru's front wheel. It's just crazy. I wouldn't risk that at all."

Some speculated that Froome was trying to pay back Aru for attacking Froome when he clearly needed assistance.

The Italian from Sardinia gave a similar explanation to Froome’s outside his team bus after stage nine when asked about it.

"He was almost falling because he'd come close to a fan, he lost his balance and the elbow came out for balance," Aru said. "Actually, he said sorry, it wasn't on purpose, no way."

Aru, winner of the 2015 Vuelta a España, also played down the earlier incident when he attacked.

"I didn't see it because I was attacking, I wanted to attack from far out," Aru continued.

"We were fine from there to the finish. He saw that I stopped so he didn't have any problem."

Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) and Daniel Martin (Quick-Step Floors) were concerned with Aru's aggression. Martin said that he is not sure Aru knew and told him not to attack. Yates called Aru's excuse "absolute bulls***."

"Obviously there was also the incident out on the road where I had a mechanical on the Mont du Chat," added Froome. "It was clear to me I had to change bikes straight away and it appeared that Fabio Aru accelerated at that moment.

"I think certainly in the peloton there's a bit of an unwritten rule that when the race leader has some kind of an issue that prevents him from racing, then the group doesn't take advantage of a situation like that.

"So I'm really grateful to them for sitting up and easing the pace for a few moments while I was able to change the bike and get back. I think Richie was instrumental in that so, again, thank you to Richie for that."

It is unclear if Froome spoke to the Aru about his attack during the aeroplane trip to Périgueux on Sunday night or during the rest day.

He said after the stage, "We will have to see what Aru has to say about it. I'll certainly ask him about it when I see him."

Froome leads the race by 18 seconds over Aru and 51 seconds over Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale).

Italian champion Fabio Aru (Astana) "didn't see the moment Chris Froome had a mechanical" immediately before he attacked on the Tour de France's ninth stage to Chambéry.

Race leader Chris Froome lifted his hand to signal to the race and to his team behind that he needed a new bike. Aru, behind Froome, rode by and attacked.

>>> Tour de France organisers ‘got what they wanted’ on chaotic Mont du Chat descent

"I didn't see it because I was attacking, I wanted to attack from far out," Aru explained in a crowd of journalists standing at the Astana bus.

"I saw that I wasn't making a big difference, then I heard over the radio Froome had stopped. I didn't see it in the moment that he had a mechanical.

"I wanted to attack at that point, when there was six kilometres to go. I didn't see it. I heard it on the radio, then I stopped."

Critics blasted Aru when he launched his attack at 32 kilometres remaining on the Mont du Chat. Others joined him, but seemingly refused to work with him and he eased off.

"We will have to see what Aru has to say about it. I'll certainly ask him about it when I see him," Froome explained.

"I didn't see his attack, I was too busy trying to change my bike. It sounded like he sat up, but that group then sat up but I think that was more to due to Richie [Porte] from what I understand.

“Richie said to the rest of the guys, 'Listen, it isn't the moment to attack the leader of the race.' I want to say a massive thank you to Richie and the rest of the group for not taking advantage of that situation."

Froome seemly body-checked Aru shortly after, but it appears that he was knocked off balance by a fan.

"He was almost falling because he'd come close to a fan, he lost his balance and the elbow came out for balance," Aru added.

"Actually, he said sorry, it wasn't on purpose, no way."

Aru said that there was nothing to clarify from his attack, however.

"We were fine from there to the finish. He saw that I stopped so he didn't have any problem."

Team Astana attacked with Fabio Aru and Jakob Fuglsang on the same climb in the Critérium du Dauphiné, escaped with Froome and Richie Porte (BMC Racing) and won the stage with Fuglsang.

"And we had the same plan today," the team's sports director, Dmitriy Fofonov said.

"If he wants to attack, he attacks, we wanted to anticipate the moves and attack early anyway.

"I don't know what problem Froome had, a mechanical or if he needed a gel or bidon. It happened before on Alpe d'Huez. He called the car for a gel, which wasn't authorised.

"If you have a problem you have a problem because once the race starts, the race is on. No one waits afterwards for anyone else when crashes."

It's a universal practice among Tour de France teams to recce key climbs ahead of the race, but instead of riding La Planche des Belle Filles, stage five winner Fabio Aru (Astana) went on YouTube.

The Italian champion attacked just beyond midway up the climb, deciding on the timing of his attack by watching videos on YouTube of the Tour de France's two previous trips to La Planche des Belle Filles.

>>> Fabio Aru wins on summit finish of Tour de France stage five as Chris Froome takes overall lead

"I didn't know La Planche des Belle Filles," Aru said in a post-race press conference.

"I looked on the internet for some videos of Chris Froome’s win in 2012 and Vincenzo Nibali’s win in 2014 and that helped me decide that the right time to attack."

Watch: Tour de France stage five highlights

Aru's win, and the 10-second time bonus that went with it, moved him from 25th to third on GC, but the Italian said he was concentrating more on enjoying his first Tour stage win than contemplating challenging for the yellow jersey.

"I’m slowly realising what I’ve done today," he continued.

>>> Five talking points from stage five of the Tour de France

"Of course, I’m extremely happy to win a stage of the Tour de France, which is missing in my career.

"I don’t want to think of what’s coming next in the Tour de France, I’ll take it day by day. First I want to enjoy this victory quietly with my team."

Fabio Aru (Astana) attacked the Tour de France overall classification contenders on the stage five summit finish to La Planche des Belles Filles to take victory, while Chris Froome (Team Sky) took the overall lead of the race.

The Italian champion made a move from a reduced group of overall contenders with 2.4km to go on the steep slopes of the final climb, and quickly put in a gap of 11 seconds to those behind.

>>> Mark Cavendish: ‘It took a lot of courage to eliminate the world champion from the Tour de France’

Aru continued to look strong on the way up the climb, where his compatriot Vincenzo Nibali won in 2014 for Astana, even when Chris Froome instigated a move with 1.6km to go.

The defending champion was unable to drop all of his rivals, with Richie Porte (BMC), Daniel Martin (Quick-Step) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) all able to hold him.

It was bad news for Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) and yellow jersey Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) however, as they were immediately dropped by Froome's stinging attack.

That move did little to eat into Aru's advantage though as he continued strongly up the climb, and things slowed down as Froome looked for the likes of Porte to take the front in pursuit of Aru.

That allowed the Astana man to push on towards victory, and he crossed the line in celebration of his first stage victory at the Tour de France.

The slowing of the Froome group behind allowed the likes of Simon Yates (Orica-Scott) and other dropped riders to close the gap, with Dan Martin able to make a late attack in the final hundred metres to take second place and six bonus seconds.

Froome was able to then cross the line in third to take six seconds, with Porte settling for fourth.

That meant that Froome took over the race lead from his team-mate Thomas who moves to second, with Aru in third and Dan Martin now fourth.

How it happened

Jan Bakelants (Ag2r La Mondiale), Mickael Delage (FDJ), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), Dylan van Baarle (Cannonale-Drapac), Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fortuneo-Oscaro), Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie), Philippe Gilbert (Quick-Step Floors) and Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal), formed the day's breakaway from drop of the flag, establishing a maximum gap of 3-24.

They were never allowed to get too far away and were forced to work hard with the peloton keeping the pace extremely high in the opening part of the race, with Porte's BMC team doing a huge amount of work all day.

Bakelants helped reduce the breakaway group to six with an attack on the only other categorised climb of the day with around 50km to go. De Gendt and Delage were both unable to keep the pace and dropped back to the chasing bunch.

After the gap closed down to just over a minute, the break regrouped and managed to have 2-14 with 20km to go.

But that continued to fall the closer the race got to the final climb of La Planche des Belles Filles, and Gilbert attacked his breakaway companions on an incline with 13km to go.

While all riders made chase, only one was able to get to him and work with him out front; his compatriot Jan Bakelants.

But Sky were now working on the front of the bunch in aid of Froome, and as the Belgian pair out front hit the early slopes of the climb with 50 seconds, it looked like the bunch had timed the catch perfectly.

The break was then inevitably caught with 5km remaining, with Sky's Michal Kwiatkowski making a huge effort to drag his team up the climb.

It then came down to the GC contenders as more and more riders dropped off the back, with Aru able to make the decisive attack for victory.

The Tour de France continues on Thursday with stage six, a 216km route from Vesoul to Troyes that should suit the sprinters.

Results

Tour de France 2017, stage five: Vittel - La Planche des Belles Filles (160.5km)

1 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team, in 3-44-06

2 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 16s

3 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky, at 20s

4 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing Team, at 20s

5 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale, at 24s

6 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 26s

7 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac, st

8 Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo, st

9 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team, at 34s

10 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky, at 40s

General classification after stage five

1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky, in 18-38-59

2 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky, at 12s

3 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team, at 14s

4 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors, at 25s

5 Richie Porte (Aus) BMC Racing, at 39s

6 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott, at 43s

7 Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale, at 47s

8 Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo, at 52s

9 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team, at 54s

10 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 1-01

Fabio Aru (Astana) says in an emotional open letter response to Vincenzo Nibali that "it wouldn't be smart to go to the Giro d'Italia without any training" for three weeks.

Aru crashed in training in Sierra Nevada, Spain, on April 2, and injured his knee. He called off his plans to race the Giro d'Italia starting May 5 on his home island Sardinia.

>>> Fabio Aru sheds light on the crash on a high speed descent that has put him out of the Giro d’Italia

He responded to an open letter last week by Nibali, who wrote, "There is a chance to see you at the start of the Giro."

"Vincenzo, I read and I reread your letter," Aru wrote in La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper today. "And I thought for a long time how good it would be to answer you with a nice one, saying, 'Yes, I will also be at the 100th Giro.' Unfortunately, life often puts the hard evidence in front of us.

"As the intelligent and sensitive guy you've always proven to be, I think you can understand it wouldn't be smart to go to the Giro d'Italia after three weeks without any training. Neither for my team, which has given me confidence, nor for my fans, who were incredibly close in these difficult weeks."

A week after his crash, Aru posted on Twitter a photo of his swollen left knee and said that it prohibits him from starting the Giro in sufficient condition. He damaged the cartilage with the impact.

Watch: Giro d'Italia 2017 essential guide

Aru won the Vuelta a España and placed second and third overall in the Giro. He was one of the favourites with Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and many others including Sky's Mikel Landa and Geraint Thomas.

"The Giro was on my mind and every action and thought was 100 per cent towards this target. Then, as you said, the unthinkable happens and everything seems to vanish like snow in the sun," Aru said.

"With my hand on my heart, I must say that I would like to challenge you on the climbs of the 100th Giro, on Etna and on Blockhaus, up the Stelvio.

"Unfortunately, this injury forced me to stop for more than two weeks by now. And as an example, when I ended my 2016 season, I took three weeks off and started from scratch."

2011 Giro victor Michele Scarponi, who won the opening stage of the Tour of the Alps this week, will lead team Astana now. Aru could race the Tour de France or the Vuelta a España later this year.

"I'll cheer for my team-mates, Michele Scarponi in the first place. But dear Vincenzo, I sincerely hope that too you can do well, maybe allying with 'Scarpa' or with the other strong Italians, there are many, to see the tricolor flag waving higher than the others in Piazza Duomo in Milan."

It was a day of firsts for Michele Scarponi. He took Astana’s first victory of the season, his first success in their sky blue colours and, surprisingly as he has won the Giro del Trentino in the past, his first stage victory at what is now the Tour of the Alps.

>>> Geraint Thomas: ‘There were a few attacks and I thought, ‘sod it, let’s see what happens.”

Consequently, the chirpy Italian was in a particularly ebullient mood when he faced the press in Innsbruck.

“It’s about time,” he said of his win. “We’ve been performing well this season but, unfortunately, due to one thing or another we’ve not managed to take a victory, so this one is overdue and it’s good to put an end to our victory drought.”

Of course, that victory might not have come if Scarponi had been riding in support of Astana leader Fabio Aru, as had been planned before the Sardinian crashed during a training camp in Spain last week, forcing him to miss this race and, almost certainly, the 100th Giro d’Italia, which starts on Aru’s home island in little more than a fortnight.

Asked what he thought of the suggestion made by former Astana leader Vincenzo Nibali that Aru should line up at the Giro even if it means adopting a supporting role, Scarponi said he agreed with the sentiment.

“I think Vincenzo offered a good piece of advice and, in the end, that’s what all of us are hoping for because he’s our leader and everybody would like to see him at the Giro.

“I’m sure he would also like to be at the Giro’s start in Sardinia. But the injury is real, it’s serious, it needs to be monitored. Once it has been, he can be advised on when he can start back into training.”

Scarponi refused to be drawn on his own hopes for the Giro, insisting he and his team are focused on the Tour of the Alps for now, and even more so now that he has the race leader’s magenta jersey.

“While we’re all sorry Fabio’s not here, the team has managed to stay focused on this race and its preparation for the Giro, and this win is a reward for that,” said Scarponi.

“Right now, though, I’d like to stay focused on this race and not look ahead too much to the Giro. Nobody likes to surrender a leader’s jersey, so we’re going to try to defend and work for it. I’d like to take the opportunity to enjoy it.”

Watch: Giro d'Italia essential guide

Scarponi acknowledged he had been impressed with his likely rivals for the Tour of the Alps title, notably Geraint Thomas, Thibaut Pinot and Domenico Pozzovivo, but admitted he’d also impressed himself.

“That’s because I’ve just come off a very intense training camp at Sierra Nevada and I’ve not raced much lately. It’s only when you can compare yourself with other riders that you can see where your form is. I got the right result today, but I feel that I’ve still got room for improvement,” said Scarponi.

Having played down the threat of snow on the second stage – “I’ve got the ideal name for the conditions as Scarponi means ‘boots’ in Italian” – the Astana veteran then offered several dedications for his stage win.

“I want to dedicate it to my sons, Giacomo and Tomaso, and to my wife,” he said. “As I’m from the Marche, I’d also like to dedicate this win to my region and to all of the other regions in central Italy that have been hit hard by the recent earthquakes.

“I felt the ground shaking in my home town, Filottrano, so I know what that was like. I really hope my victory can bring a little happiness to those who have been affected.”

"Everyone loses without Fabio Aru at the start of the 100th Giro d'Italia in Sardinia," says Vincenzo Nibali.

The two-time winner wrote to his former Astana team-mate in an open letter explaining that he believes Aru still has the possibility to race when the Giro starts from his home island on May 5.

Aru hurt his knee in a training crash and subsequently cancelled his Giro plans.

"Fabio, don't lose hope. Not yet," Nibali wrote in La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper on Wednesday.

Aru already helped Nibali, who now races with Bahrain-Merida, win and placed second and third in the Giro d'Italia. He won the 2015 Vuelta a España by overthrowing Tom Dumoulin.

>>> Fabio Aru sheds light on the crash on a high speed descent that has put him out of the Giro d’Italia

"Although it is very difficult, perhaps impossible, I still think there is a chance to see you at the start of the Giro in Alghero. You and I are two reference points in Italian cycling for the Grand Tours, and with your absence in Sardinia, we'd all lose.

"In my heart, I hope that something will happen at the end of these days off that the doctor recommended to you."

Aru fell on the roads in Sierra Nevada, Spain, at an altitude camp a week ago on Sunday. He posted on Twitter a photo of his swollen left knee over the weekend and his Astana team released details of the incident shortly after.

"[My coach] thought I'd fractured my pelvis," Aru said. "But I only have some scratches, and nothing on the hands. The cartilage of the knee is inflamed and compressed. I fell heavily and the cartilage absorbed the impact."

The team said that Aru needs to stop riding for 10 days while the knee heals, which means he misses important training and racing days ahead of the Giro d'Italia start. He was due to race the Tour of the Alps (Trentino) and the Tour de Romandie.

>>> Giro d'Italia 2017: Latest news and race info

"Fabio, I'm not a doctor and attention to your knee should come first," Nibali continued. "At times, when doctors recommend a certain number of days off, we can anticipate it. Maybe in a few days the situation will change slightly for the better. Fabio, don't give up even if it all seems lost.

"Everyone knows what happened and no one is asking that you are 100 per cent at the start. You could try and if you see it's impossible, leave the race. Or maybe things may improve and you can stay with your form improving, taking revenge in the third week. But apart from this, the Giro allow you to put in some important work for the Tour de France. And for the future."

Aru was one of a long list of favourites, and one of the top Italians with Nibali, for the 100th Giro d'Italia.

Nibali (team Bahrain-Merida) will race along with Sky's Geraint Thomas and Mikel Landa, Adam and Simon Yates (Orica-Scott), Nairo Quintana (Movistar), Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb), Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo), Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo).

"I can look at this as an athlete, not as a fan or a sports director," added Nibali. "I know what it means to prepare months for a goal, and I know how special the Giro is for you given it pass your homeland. In particular for us because we are two islanders, and it doesn't happen often that the Giro visits."

The Giro starts with three stages in Sardinia. It last visited 10 years ago, in 2007. It continues with two stages in Sicily, with the fifth stage arriving to Nibali's hometown of Messina.

Without Aru, 2011 winner Michele Scarponi will lead Astana. Aru could race the Tour de France or the Vuelta a España later in 2017 if he does miss the Giro.

Astana's Fabio Aru has explained the sequence of events that led to him sustaining the knee injury that will mean he won't compete in the Giro d'Italia.

Aru crashed nine days ago while training in Tenerife as part of a block of altitude training, hitting the deck on a high speed descent after a blowout to one of his inner tubes.

>>> Giro d'Italia 2017 start list

"I fell at 45kph on the descent of the Alto de Monachil. If it happened a few seconds earlier, when we were going at 70kph, I don't know whether I’d be here to talk about it," Aru told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"When [Aru's coach] Maurizio Mazzoleni got out to come to my aid, he thought I’d fractured my pelvis. But I only have some scratches, and nothing on the hands."

Watch: Giro d'Italia 2017 essential guide

The Italian rider did not sustain any fractures in the crash, but will sit out the Giro d'Italia, which will start on his home island of Sardinia on May 5, with the pain in his knee continuing to impair his training.

"The cartilage of the knee is inflamed and compressed. I fell heavily and the cartilage absorbed the impact,” Aru explained.

"That impedes movement. When I’m still, the pain is normal, but just bending the knee is like having a screwdriver twist into your flesh. I’m not able to pedal and I haven’t trained in nine days."

>>> Bora-Hansgrohe leader ruled out of Giro d'Italia with knee injury

Aru, who had been one of the favourite for the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia, will also miss the upcoming Giro del Trentino and Tour de Romandie, with doctors recommending that he spends at least another 10 days off the bike.

With his next doctors appointment on April 20, Astana have not yet put a date on the return of their star rider, but will be surely be hoping that he will be fit enough to take to the start line of the Tour de France on July 1, a race that he been expected to miss due to his planned Giro participation.