Many people are wondering that Astana’s constant hard tempo in the giro long after Alberto Contador looked to have wrapped the race was up was not due to trying to unseat him from his Maglia Rosa, but to weaken him before the Tour de France, which begins in five weeks with Astana rider Vincenzo Nibali as its defending champion.

However, DS Giuseppe Martinelli says that they upped the pace to try and win races, rather than to hurt and discomfort Contador.

"I've been criticised for this, but those critics don't understand at all. I know, because I know him, that if Contador says he's going to win a race and he is prepared for it then it is impossible to defeat him. Therefore my tactics, which actually favour rather than trouble him, have been employed to make things more difficult for rival riders who could challenge us for positions of honour," Martinelli has explained.