Landa still mulling over future following Vuelta a Burgos win

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Mikel Landa continued his rich vein of recent form by winning the Vuelta a Burgos on Saturday, and while the Basque rider's departure from Team Sky at season's end is seemingly a certainty, he insisted that he has not yet decided on his destination for 2018.

Landa placed fourth overall at the Tour de France while riding in the service of winner Chris Froome, and has been linked with a switch to Movistar for the new season. In an interview with AS last month, Landa admitted that joining Movistar was "a possibility" but he offered no firm indication as to his landing spot following his Burgos win.

"For now, it's about enjoying [this win], and then thinking and deciding on my future," Landa said according to the EFE news agency. "In the Giro and the Tour, I proved that I can be in the fight for a Grand Tour."

Landa placed third overall at the 2015 Giro d'Italia in the colours of Astana, and was famously ordered to sit up and wait for his leader Fabio Aru while on the attack on the final mountain stage to Sestriere.

In each of his two seasons at Sky, Landa was selected as team leader for the Giro, but was forced out by illness last year and had his overall challenge ruined by a crash at the base of the Blockhaus this time around. Landa recovered to win at Piancavallo in the final week and claim the blue jersey of best climber.

At the Tour, Landa at times appeared to be climbing more strongly than his leader Froome, particularly in the Pyrenees, and made little secret of his disappointment at missing out on a place on the final podium by a second to Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale).

"I went to the Tour to work, and I finished fourth, which was welcome," Landa said after his Burgos victory. "I came here to win, I won and I am very satisfied."

Landa led the Vuelta a Burgos from start to finish after claiming victory on the opening stage when he snuck off the front in a late breakaway in the finale at Alto del Castillo. He proceeded to solo to victory on the stage 3 summit finish at Picón Blanco, and was then content to mark Enric Mas on the final stage to Lagunas de Neila to claim overall victory, 40 seconds clear of the Quick-Step rider.

"I was climbing with two rivals and one of them was a former teammate," Landa said after placing third on the day, 11 seconds behind Miguel Ángel López (Astana). "I wasn't going to lose the gap I had over Enrico Mas and the minute I had on Miguel Ángel López."

Having raced the Giro and Tour, Landa will not be part of Sky's line-up at the Vuelta a España, where Froome will seek to land final victory after placing second overall in 2011, 2014 and 2016. After taking a "small break," Landa is expected to target the Tour of Lombardy in the final weeks of the season, by which point his future ought to have been decided.