The Vuelta a Espana will start in a few days and teams confirmed one after the other their squad. The Astana Pro Team will bet on a strong selection with Vincenzo Nibali, who finished 4th at the last Tour de France, Fabio Aru and Mikel Landa. According to team manager Giuseppe Martinelli, it will be "the strongest team ever".

Fabio Aru explained he is ready to take the leadership in his team even if there are three GC riders in the line-up. "There’s no risk of a rivalry. It’s better to have Vincenzo as a teammate. It’s the others who will have problems,” Aru told Gazzetta dello Sport in a interview. "We’ll be riding to do as well as possible, with one objective. The only rival missing is Alberto Contador and that’s good because I like a direct confrontation with my rivals. The 2014 Vuelta was an important race for me. I didn’t know if I could handle two Grand Tours in a season and at such a high level but it made me stronger and more convinced of my ability."

He explained also he shared a talk with Vincenzo Nibali. "I spoke to Vincenzo for a long time on the telephone on Thursday. He’s come out of the Tour in good form and his stage win has boosted his moral. He’ll do well at the Vuelta because he one of a few great riders in the peloton. We’re professionals, we know how to work responsibly and we know the rules in the team. We’ve got an excellent relationship even if we haven’t raced together for a long time, apart from the world championships, since the 2013 Giro d’Italia."

Aru followed a strong training in altitude. He has spent 20 days in Sestriere. He did more training than racing. "I haven’t raced much but the races I’ve done have been tough: Paris-Nice, Catalunya and the Giro d’Italia. They’re all WorldTour. I’ll have done about 80 days of training in the mountains. That’s a lot but I’ll be back at Sestriere even before the Vuelta."

"I won’t treat Poland as training but I need some racing speed and race rhythm in my legs. I’m not targeting the overall classification but I’d to do well, even if it’s probably impossible. My numbers in training have been good. And I’m at the same level as 2014 and hope to improve even more before the Vuelta. I’ve noticed that my body is becoming more efficient as I get older."

Aru finished 2nd at the Giro d'Italia. "I learnt a lot at this race. Things are different when you have to fight to overcome a lot of problems compared to when you’re on form, well trained and things go smoothly."