Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

[staubsauger]

Re: Re:

It wasn't a bad TT from Nibali by any means. Not as good as he was in his Tour win or his Giro win, but good. It just looks bad because Landa produced a shockingly good TT.

Things are looking good for Nibali but he is no longer as favoured against Landa as he was.

Nope, Landa definitely is the favourite now. Nibali didn't manage to sneak a few minutes on stages 8 and 9 which probably were the stages that suited Nibali the best relative to Landa, so that may be a little worrying. But at least Nibali managed to gap one of his other big rivals those stages.

Truth is we don't know who the favorite is, at least till we reach the high mountains and see climbing form of the main contenders. Landa didn't impressed on the climbs so far, last year he was good from day 1. I would say that Nibali is still the prime pick, followed by Valverde and Landa

Yeah. His health problems ain't really make Landa the favorite right now. It's more like “What a difference a day makes“ right now.

We need to wait for his performance in the Dolomites!

 

[SeriousSam]

And Nibali's streak of having the top favourites drop out of the GT he is contesting continues!

 

[Carols]

Re:

And Nibali's streak of having the top favourites drop out of the GT he is contesting continues!

The Force is strong within The Shark

 

[SafeBet]

Re:

And Nibali's streak of having the top favourites drop out of the GT he is contesting continues!

Another * win?

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

And Nibali's streak of having the top favourites drop out of the GT he is contesting continues!

Why don't you go back to discussing Landa's odds?

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

And Nibali's streak of having the top favourites drop out of the GT he is contesting continues!

This isn't won yet and Landa became top favorite just yesterday but we might say it's the Sicilian voodoo at work.

 

[May0maniac]

Re: Re:

And Nibali's streak of having the top favourites drop out of the GT he is contesting continues!

The Force is strong within The Shark

His malocchio seems to be really powerful.

 

[SeriousSam]

Re: Re:

And Nibali's streak of having the top favourites drop out of the GT he is contesting continues!

Why don't you go back to discussing Landa's odds?

Not sure what point you're making here. Hopefully nothing absurd like how Landa pulling out was foreseeable.

 

[hfer07]

Haters gonna hate when Nibs conquers Il Giro once more by saying it was because Landa dropped out....

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

If you see Nibali's climbing atm I still think it's unlikely. But then again, it's Nibali. If I've learned one thing about Nibali in all these years he can rise and surprise you anytime.
Might as well suddenly dominate the coming mountains and win by a large advantage. It's either that or a complete fail like the Vuelta a few years ago

 

[Red Rick]

Vuelta 2013 is around the form I'd put him now. Good enough in the high mountains but losing seconds here and there in the medium mountains.

 

[SafeBet]

I don't really know what to make of him. Some other riders might regret not having tested him more in a stage like today's.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

I don't really know what to make of him. Some other riders might regret not having tested him more in a stage like today's.

It certainly was a defensive race, high pace from Astana to prevent any ideas and watching Valverde. I don't think he was feeling great today but in the end it wasn't a stage where he could've made a difference.

 

[Brullnux]

I think Nibali is slightly afraid to attack atm as his form isn't yet good enough to distance people and keep the distance. I feel what happened at roccaraso actually damaged his confidence quite a bit.

 

[johnymax]

Fuglsang looks better than him on the climbs at the moment, but i think in the next few days things are going to change. Still I am not 100% confident Nibali is the man to beat in this Giro.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

And Nibali's streak of having the top favourites drop out of the GT he is contesting continues!

Why don't you go back to discussing Landa's odds?

Not sure what point you're making here. Hopefully nothing absurd like how Landa pulling out was foreseeable.

Of course you are, if not, then you are just an amateurish better just as all the other clueless bookies who know nothing about the sport of cycling! Duh

Its obvious that Nibali still isn't there. I don't think he will ever reach 2013/2014 levels this Giro, heck most likely ever, but chances are it will be enough for him this Giro with Landa out.

 

[movingtarget]

Nibali not at his best but still good enough to win the overall. Chaves is the one I am interested in seeing later in the race. His ride in the Vuelta was full of merit.

 

[Eclipse]

Not at his best but it very much feels like the others will regret not managing to actually hurt him. I don't see any way he doesn't improve as this goes on and he's only been taken for a few seconds here and there so far.

 

[Climbing]

Re:

Not at his best but it very much feels like the others will regret not managing to actually hurt him. I don't see any way he doesn't improve as this goes on and he's only been taken for a few seconds here and there so far.

I agree, they should have tested him before the high mountains.
Seems more likely that Nibali will get better than worse going on, but you never know for sure.
Not remotely close to 2013/2014 form, but that could be good for watching the race considering so many riders are quite close to each other.

 

[Vass43]

I honestly do not understand some of the negativity on here about Nibali...he was the man to beat at the start of the Giro and is still the man to beat now. he hasn't put a foot wrong and things are panning out beautifully for the shark. Its just like him when everyone is writing him off that he comes out and proves them wrong, and i expect this to be the case. Honestly who is going to beat him in the mountains?
With Landa out obviously Valverde is his main rival now but i just think Nibali has too much class for him.
While Nibali may not be flying he is certainlycoasting along and saving his energy for the final week when lots of other riders will be wilting - and this is when the shark will attack - and likely on a downhill section where he is simply better than the other riders. If he can stay healthy I really think he will win it again this year.

 

[dacooley]

Re:

I honestly do not understand some of the negativity on here about Nibali...he was the man to beat at the start of the Giro and is still the man to beat now. he hasn't put a foot wrong and things are panning out beautifully for the shark. Its just like him when everyone is writing him off that he comes out and proves them wrong, and i expect this to be the case. Honestly who is going to beat him in the mountains?
With Landa out obviously Valverde is his main rival now but i just think Nibali has too much class for him.
While Nibali may not be flying he is certainlycoasting along and saving his energy for the final week when lots of other riders will be wilting - and this is when the shark will attack - and likely on a downhill section where he is simply better than the other riders. If he can stay healthy I really think he will win it again this year.

that's the case however it's sport where nothing is a given and class can be quite fickle especially within a single cycling event.

 

[Vass43]

What are peoples thoughts after today. I'm slightly disappointed - I thought he rode well but Kruijswijk rode better.

 

[Pippo_San]

Tomorrow will be interesting I guess. It feels like he's missing a little bit at the sharp end of his engine. The form is there, it's just missing that little extra bit that will probably come in the next few days.

But again tomorrow will be interesting. I think in a TT where being constant is key he can gain back time on everyone.

 

[Inquitus]

Re:

Tomorrow will be interesting I guess. It feels like he's missing a little bit at the sharp end of his engine. The form is there, it's just missing that little extra bit that will probably come in the next few days.

But again tomorrow will be interesting. I think in a TT where being constant is key he can gain back time on everyone.

The day Dumoulin had to ride very hard to limit his losses before the long TT took the legs out of him for that TT, wonder if the same will happen to Nibali, he rode out of his skin to limit his losses against 2 riders working together considering he was distanced so far from the finish, granted his descending skills probably helped, but I can't help feel it will be hard for him to recover for tomorrow.

 

[Pippo_San]

Re: Re:

Tomorrow will be interesting I guess. It feels like he's missing a little bit at the sharp end of his engine. The form is there, it's just missing that little extra bit that will probably come in the next few days.

But again tomorrow will be interesting. I think in a TT where being constant is key he can gain back time on everyone.

The day Dumoulin had to ride very hard to limit his losses before the long TT took the legs out of him for that TT, wonder if the same will happen to Nibali, he rode out of his skin to limit his losses against 2 riders working together considering he was distanced so far from the finish, granted his descending skills probably helped, but I can't help feel it will be hard for him to recover for tomorrow.

You still have to consider that everyone was going flat out during those last few kms. I don't think he had to spend a lot more that Chavito and Kruijswijk.