After pulling out of starting Tirreno-Adriatico due to illness, Chris Froome’s absence at the Race of the Two Seas is being sorely missed by tow of his rivals for the Grand Tours: Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali.

“We were looking forward to [a re-match after Ruta del Sol], but that’s how it is,” said Bjarne Riis, Alberto Contador’s team manager at Tinkoff-Saxo.

“Contador’s most feared rival is Froome, no doubt about that. He knows how good Froome is. We still don’t know how good Nairo Quintana can be, or how well Vincenzo Nibali will go with these guys when they are at their best, but we know how good Froome is, and how good he can be.”

Contador would love to have had the chance to get his revenge on Froome after the Brit won the Ruta del Sol ahead of the Spaniard, but he isn’t too disappointed the Brit didn’t make the startline.

“Ha!” Contador responded when asked if Froome is already one up on him. “You can look at it as Froome 1 and Contador 0, or you can see it as Contador 2 and Froome 1 given I beat him in the first time trial and the first mountain top finish in Ruta del Sol.”

Nibali said that while it was a shame Froome wasn’t there, he is more concerned with finding his best condition building up to his Tour de France title defence.

“Froome, Alberto… What’s important is for me to race. Clearly though, Froome is a great adversary and rival. I’m sorry that he’s not here, but for sure, there are other occasions to race against him.”

“It’s important to face my rivals early on, but the big thing is to be in the best condition at the key moments of the season when you have to face them.”