This year, the Italian champion will not ride the Giro d’Italia despite speculation in the Italian press last week. Vincenzo Nibali, the Astana Pro Team rider, is focusing only on the Tour de France. His teammate Fabio Aru will have the leadership on the first three-week race of the season.

"I've already said 'no' many times. I won't be present at the Giro d'Italia, it's not in my programme," Nibali told Swiss radio station RSI on the eve of the Tour de Romandie, a stance he reiterated in an interview with the race organisation. In my programme there's only the Tour de Romandie for the moment, and the Tour de France. I deny all the rumours circulating concerning me and the Giro d'Italia."

This week, he will try to do his best at the Tour de Romandie. But he doest not know what is the level of his main rivals at the moment. It's hard to say about Quintana or Froome. Quintana didn't do a lot at the Classics and we only saw Froome at Flèche Wallonne, and they both had crashes."