'Mikel Landa lands in the cradle of Landismo' read the headline in Marca on Thursday morning, as the newspaper previewed the Vuelta a España's lone day in the Basque Country, and the man himself was naturally greeted with the greatest acclaim when the peloton arrived in Vitoria for the start of stage 17.
"Mikel, Mikel!" cried a family bedecked in Athletic Bilbao jerseys at the first sighting of Landa, and the sea of ikurrina flags on the roadside all fluttered with a touch more fervour when the Soudal-QuickStep rider rode past on this way to sign on.
