Fabio Aru will be one of the favorites at the next Giro d’Italia. The Astana Pro Team rider hopes to be at the top-form at the start. Indeed, he has fallen behind in his preparation. Because of a stomach virus, the Italia rider called off the Giro del Trentino last week and a chance to face rival Richie Porte (Team Sky).

“I did everything to plan. I trained a lot, a lot of it at altitude, and I raced little,” Aru told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “It was more or less in line with what I did in 2014.” He trained with his Giro teammate: Diego Rosa, Dario Cataldo and Paolo Tiralongo.

Now, we know the main favorites for the Maglia Rosa. Riche Porte (Team Sky), Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), Rigoberto Urán (Etixx-Quick-Step), and Aru at 2,000 meters above sea level in the Sestriere ski resort.