For Benat Intxausti, 2016 was supposed to be a dream season. It was his first with Team Sky and he was going to help fellow Basque rider Mikel Landa win the Giro while chasing results for himself.

It started off well, with third on GC at his first stage race, Volta a la Valenciana, while teammate Wout Poels won. But then distaster struck. The former Movistar man became ill with what was eventually diagnosed as mononucleosis. It ensured he wouldn’t race since Valencia and missed the full spring. He has just made his return at the Tour of Slovenia.

"For me it was meant to be a special year after the change of teams with some big objectives, and it has all fallen apart," he told Basque outlet EITB. "I've suffered a lot. It has really hurt being at home without being able to go near the bike or anything. It's a long process to get back to 100 per cent to compete at a high level. They say four, five, six months, even eight months, a year - there are sportspeople who have lost a year of their careers."

Benat says he is in debt to the team and he is aiming to be strong at the Vuelta a Espana, where he has won a stage before as part of a strong Movistar TT unit. He has also won the Tour of Beijing and two Giro stages, spending a day in pink in 2013.