Mikel Landa entered the Giro as a domestqiue for Fabio Aru but has emerged from the Grand Tour as the revelation of the race and one of the most sought after riders in the transfer market this season.

While many wonder if Landa could have won the race had he not been pacing Aru around Italy for three weeks, he says the Astana team had a plan pre-race, they stuck to it and he is pleased with his two stage wins and third overall.

“They said right from the beginning that Fabio Aru was the leader. Later, the race unfolded as it did, and I had my options,” Landa said in an interview. “I can’t dwell on it too much, because I am very happy with the two stage wins and the third place overall.”

“Maybe we should have tried earlier [on Finestre] to see if Contador was not feeling good, but we never dared, and the best won during three weeks of racing,” Landa later reflected after the penultimate stage where he and Aru put two minutes into Contador. “To win the Giro, no, because Alberto is Alberto. Even if he did a have a bajón (bad day), he was never going to crack because he controls the time differences very well … I was watching him, and I didn’t know if he was good or bad.”

Aru himself came out with praise for Landa, but that may have changed had Landa not been told to sit up and wait for Aru after gapping the whole field on the way to Sestriere on the penultimate day.

"Mikel did exceptional work. In my view our tactics were spot on, and even more important than that is that the team was exceptional and everyone gave their best,” Aru said. “I have a fantastic relationship with Mikel. We get on very well together and his behavior during this Giro has been great. I will always remember that he waited 6 or 7 kilometers on the Mortirolo when I didn’t have the legs to stay with him, and then he rode up to Contador and afterwards went off to win a beautiful stage. He didn’t ride his own race, but he waited for me, which does him honor, and I thank him. He has won two stages during this Giro, and in the future he’ll certainly achieve great things.”

While staying at Astana isn’t out of the question, Landa looks likely to leave to pursue his dreams of leading a team outright in a Grand Tour, but he is in no rush to make a decision on his future, saying he will do so in the summer.

“I have all summer to listen to offers and make a decision,” Landa said. “Now I am going to rest, train with my friends, and think about the next race.”