When asked to describe his feelings with an intestinal ailment that caused him to miss the Giro del Trentino, Fabio Aru of Astana called himself “a wreck”. He may now line up at the Tour of Romandie to find form ahead of his bid to win the Giro d’Italia.

"I trained well on Saturday. On Sunday I started feeling ill, coming and going from the bathroom – a viral intestinal infection, which was diagnosed at the clinic where I was examined," Aru told Gazzetta dello Sport. "In two days I had more than 30 attacks of cramps. I'm a wreck."

"I asked if there was an explanation for this attack but they said there wasn't. These are ailments that flare up in a mysterious way. Now I'm at home in Lugano, in bed, but I hope I'll be feeling better from Tuesday."

Before his illness he had spent time on the Teide in Tenerife and said he was further ahead than he was last year, where he rode to a stage win and third overall in his home Grand Tour.

Now the Tour of Romandie looks like his final tune-up race ahead of the big goal for his season. 

"First of all, I have to try and recover, then I'll think about making up [for the missing race and training days]," Aru said. "If I recover in a few days, I could ride Romandie, but if it takes a few days more, I could just focus on training. My original plan was to do a week of preparation at an altitude of 2,000 metres at Sestriere between Trentino and the Giro, and the Giro team will do that regardless."