Astana leader feels he is ready for big challenges from rivals.

Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) tried to go on the offensive at the Roma Maxima race on Sunday but yet again came away empty handed, with Blel Kadri (AG2R-La Mondiale) taking the biggest win of his career after a day of grace.

The Astana team leader was very active in the pursuit of the Frenchman but despite Nibali cooperating well with four other riders, Kadri stayed clear to win alone. Eventually, Nibali and the chasers were caught by the peloton, with the Sicilian finishing 40th at 48 seconds. His lack of a powerful sprint finish forces Nibali on the attack if he wants to win but he often finds himself in all or nothing situations. He harvests praise for racing offensively but other riders claim the palmares.

"We worked together pretty well and we were going at 55km/h,” Nibali told Cyclingnews.com “but it was a fast run-in to the finish and he held us off. In the end we knew we were riding for second place and that's when we started messing around and got caught.”

After Roma Maxima, Nibali journeyed to Tuscany to recuperate and prepare for the start of Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday. He took the week-long stage race last year, defeating Chris Horner to lift the special trident trophy and walk away with the race winner's blue jersey.

Nibali knows he faces much tougher opposition this year, with Alberto Contador (Team Saxo-Tinkoff), Chris Froome (Team Sky), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) all riding the race of the two seas, but nevertheless he is confident that he can hold his own even when measured up against the best stage race riders of current day cycling.

"There are some big-name riders coming to Italy. I'll try and race well and take them on and we'll see what happens," he said. "I'm not afraid of them but I respect them. I'll race Tirreno-Adriatico wearing number one. That means something and is a good start."