Astana prepares for the time after Vincenzo Nibali . In three weeks, the first gathering of the Kazakh team will again take place in Montecatini Terme. 

The new leader of Giuseppe Martinell’s team  is another Italian, Fabio Aru . 

“We’ll miss the results that Vincenzo consistently secured, especially early in the season, but I don’t think the extra pressure will be a problem for Fabio,” Martinelli told La Gazzetta.

“Fabio has already learned a lot from Vincenzo. He’s now learned how to manage the tactics of a long stage race; even if they have very different characters and so are their ways of racing. Vincenzo races on instinct and experience. Fabio is more calculating. If he doesn’t feel at his best, he won’t move. If someone else attacks, he tends to wait.”

Martinelli also reiterates his firm intention to have his captain at the start of the Giro d’Italia in 2017.

“I can guarantee that Fabio will race more next season. He could debut at the Vuelta Valenciana (February 1-5) and then target the Abu Dhabi Tour (Feb 23-26) and Tirreno-Adriatico (March 8-14). To avoid any confusion, I think I can say that it’s unimaginable that he doesn’t ride the Giro. And it’s more likely that he’ll ride the Giro-Vuelta double than the Giro and the Tour,” he said.

“In the last few years Fuglsang has been used as a domestique but in races like Paris-Nice and the Tour of the Basque Country, he’ll be our team leader. Tanel is another rider who can bring in the results and I want to see what Moser can do. I think he can give a lot more than he has so far, while Valgren can do well throughout the season. We’re not worried, we’re convinced we’ll have a super team around Fabio for 2017.”