Vincenzo Nibali has confirmed he is racing the Vuelta a Espana along with Mikel Landa and Fabio Aru, meaning Astana may be the strongest team we have seen in recent Grand Tours.

He tweeted, “The #Vuelta I’ll be there with @FabioAru1 #Landa and all @AstanaTeam what entertainment for our fans all united for one goal.”

It isn’t clear who will lead the team. Initially Aru would lead in the Giro and Vuelta like he did in 2014, where he won three stages in the two Grand Tours. But Landa was a super domestique and was held back to help Aru in the Giro before taking two stages and finishing third, one spot behind Aru and he may have wanted to lead the team after his hard work. Nibali was fourth in the Tour after a bad opening fortnight but was really strong in week three and managed to win stage 19 and he will want to try and win a second Vuelta to save his season.

One thing that is clear is that Aru and Landa will be fresher than all of the riders coming out of the Tour like Nibali, Valverde, Rodriguez, Froome, Quintana, van Garderen and Sanchez and this may tip the balance in their favour. But in 2014, Landa was fifth overall, with Valverde and Rodriguez third and fourth despite riding the Tour, meaning this isn’t always the case.