Mikel Landa’s illness will now keep him out of the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race. The 26 year old Basque rider is yet to race this year since joining Team Sky. While he has returned to training, he doesnt't have the level yet to do a big race like the Race of the Two Seas.

This means his only race days before the Giro look like being the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and Giro del Trentino, where he took stages in both races in 2015. Then Liege-Bastogne-Liege is potentially on the cards, or the Tour de Romandie before he tries to bring the British squad their first ever Maglia Rosa overall. Should his level pick up in the next ten days or so, he may even get to debut at Coppi e Bartali. 

Now it is important to see if he can get enough races in his legs before the Giro to ensure he doesn’t start the race with a level that is so far behind his rivals.