After a brilliant season with a victory at both the Giro and the Vuelta, Gianluca Brambilla has moved up in the hierarchy at Quick Step Floors. The Italian has proved that he can be competitive against the best in different terrains and so he is scheduled for a Tour de France debut in 2017.

Unfortunately, the chance means that he will miss the hundredth edition of the Giro. 

"If I want to present myself at the Tour in the best condition, I must skip the Giro d’Italia,” he tells Giornale di Vicenza. 

It hurts, especially because the route will pass close to his home during the last week and he would have liked to try to win that stage.

Nonetheless, the Italian is eager to discover the Grance Boucle where he should be an important teammate for Dan Martin. The road leading to July looks promising and will start in January with the Tour Down Under followed by the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. He will continue his WorldTour season in Abu Dhabi and then head to Italy for the Strade Bianche. He will do Tirreno-Adriatico, Volta a Catalunya and Tour of the Basque Country, his last preparation race before the Ardennes classics where he will be a teammate of Dan Martin and Julian Alaphilippe. 

Brambilla will spend the month of May away from the competitions before making his debut at the Critérium du Dauphiné in June. Then it’s time for the Tour de France that he will attack after the Italian Championships.