Vincenzo Nibali will be at the start of the Tour de France in 2016 . According to reports in today's edition of La Gazzetta dello Sport, the Astana rider has made the decision to do return to the French race for the third year in a row.

The Italian newspaper reports that Nibali and his coach Paolo Slongo have made opted fo La Grande Boucle as the best preparation for the Olympic Games in Rio as the courses for both the Giro d'Italia and the Tour de France have relatively easy starts compared to recent edition. The objective at the Tour where the Astana captain will be Fabio Aru, will be to focus on select stages stage and perhaps create a surprise. In any case, his intention is to do more than just train for the future objection.

In addition to his particpation in the Tour de France, La Gazzetta dello Sport also reports that Nibali will definitively not be part of the Astana team in 2017. The Italian newspaper again reports that Trek-Segafredo are in pole position to secure his services after they recently added Italian coffee brand Segafredo as a co-sponsor. Apparently, Nibali has already identified a group of staff and riders that are set to follow him in his new adventure. Coach Paolo Slongo, soigneur Michele Pallini and thedoctor Emilio Magni are the staff member that are set to join Nibali while close friend Valerio Agnoli and perhaps Tanel Kangert and Ivan Santaromita whom Nibali already wanted at his side in 2016 (he ended up at the Skydive Dubai team), are the riders likely to also sign for Luca Guercilena's team.