Astana sports director Giuseppe Martinelli says the calendars of his captains have not been decided yet. He confirms that Fabio Aru will do the Tour de France but he leaves it to Vincenzo Nibali to freely decide his schedule.

Martinelli was speaking at press conference in Montecatini Terme  atthe first training camp of the Kazakh team. 

"We come from a difficult season, but it ended very well with Aru’s win in the Vuelta and Nibali’s victory in Lombardy,” he said. “The atmosphere is the same, we have a strong team with important goals. Fabio is fully focused on the Tour and will have an easier schedule. When you go to the Tour, you don’t have room for many other objectives and the schedule reflects that. Vincenzo has a little more freedom of action . He has already won all three Grand Tours. He has had incredibly good seasons and others more difficult. He has the right and duty to think with more tranquility about his objectives because there are many. The Giro is good for him, but there is also the Tour to prepare for the Olympics where he can also be a protagonist. Vincenzo has more time to think and I am convinced that he is taking his time.”

Martinelli is confident that Nibali will make the right decision. At the same time, the expectations are many. 

"He has already won the Giro, the Tour and the Vuelta and then he has to start to win another Giro, another Tour and another Vuelta,” he said with a smile. “The important thing is that we will be able to win one this year." 

According to Martinelli, The challenge is that the courses are easier than those of the past seasons. The Corsa Rosa presents "a week before the first serious challenges, you can start with more serenity than in 2015” and it allows you to be "not 100%" at the start. At the same time, it is important to find the best condition as soon as possible because "the last week is tough." Even La Grande Boucle is easier than last season, but that does not take away the need for "great attention from the beginning”.

Martinelli was also asked about Andrea Guardini whom he expects "to win the races that are suitable for him." "From my point of view Guardini has to win 8-10 races,” he explained. “Next year he will still be in the team. He has to do what is within his reach. Perhaps he can do a Grand Tour, but at the moment I would say that there is no room for him and he knows that.”