Basque cycling star Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) paid a touching tribute to his former teammate Vincenzo Nibali, a multiple Grand Tour winner who announced his retirement after a stage finish in his home town of Messina on Wednesday.

Landa and Nibali have been rivals for years, with Landa taking part in the Italian Grand Tour with Bahrain Victorious in 12th place overall.

Landa raced with Nibali for two seasons (2014-2015) with Astana, which he joined after the collapse of Euskaltel-Euskadi in 2013. In his first year, Nibali won the Tour de France, and in 2015, Landa made his breakthrough by finishing third in the Giro d'Italia behind Alberto Contador and Fabio Arles.

"It's a real shame he's not in the peloton anymore," Landa told Cycling News at the start of stage 6. Vincenzo always gave his all, raced bravely, and that passion made his Palma. That passion has made his Palma.

In his younger days with Euskaltel and Astana, Landa said, "Vincenzo was my idol. I was still young and just starting to find my pace, and he was already firmly established. But we always had a good relationship and we shared a lot over the years in the peloton."

"What I admire most about him is his versatility. He's been through the major Tours, but he's also had some great wins in races like Milan-San Remo and Lombardia, he's taking on races like the Tour de Flanders (in 2018), he's been a great leader in the Tour de France, he's been a great leader in the Tour de France, he's been a great leader in the Tour of Flanders, he's been a great leader in the Tour of Flanders. Without him, it will feel like an era has ended."

As for his own Giro d'Italia so far, Landa said he is very happy with how the race is going, but said he has unfinished business on the climb up Brockhaus, the next big summit finish of the Giro on Sunday.

In 2017, Landa and others, including then-teammate Geraint Thomas, crashed heavily on the climb at the base of the Apennines due to a poorly parked bike, sending the GC battle up in smoke.

"I can say that Etna was a special day. The result was more a battle of attrition due to the difficulty of the climb than anything else.

"Tomorrow's stage [stage 7 to Potenza] is very hard with a lot of different climbs. But we want to get to the blockhouse, we want to settle on that climb, and we want to settle it on Sunday."