The Vuelta a Espana will see a myriad of rivalries emerge and evolve during the next three weeks. Chris Froome (Team Sky) is the rider everyone wants beat as he chases the Tour-Vuelta double, Alberto Contador will clash with the Briton one last time before retiring, while Esteban Chaves and Adam and Simon Yates will compete for eventual leadership status at Orica-Scott. In Italy, all eyes are on Vincenzo Nibali and Fabio Aru. Once teammates at Astana, now they are rivals, with Nibali leading the Bahrain-Merida team and Aru top dog at Astana. After Aru missed out on racing against Nibali at the Giro dŽItalia due to injury, the two Italians will finally clash in a Grand Tour at this yearŽs Vuelta a Espana. Their relationship was once tense but riding the Rio Olympics for Italy and often training together in Lugano has brought them closer, with Aru hinting that they can become allies out on the road, while still being rivals, as they take on Froome, Contador et al during the next three weeks.ADVERTISEMENT For now, they are fighting for attention in the Italian media, with La Gazzetta dello Sport obliged to give them equal space and consideration on the eve of the Nimes team time trial. Aru was once NibaliŽs understudy at Astana but they are almost on equal footing and both have won the Vuelta a Espana - Nibali in 2010 and Aru in 2015. Click here to subscribe to the Cyclingnews video channel. Nibali: Focused and on form after the Giro dŽItalia Aru: Ready for a long hard Vuelta
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