Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

[Forever The Best]

Stage 20 can bring huge gaps if they go all-out in Manghen, and after seeing today I think there may be an all-out war on Manghen like Finestre last year.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re: Re:

I just watched the final 5km. Nibali looked bad. Took him a while to close that gap on Roglic and after that started riding next to him, exactly what he did with Pinot in Lombardia before being dropped like a bunch of rocks.

But do you think Roglic looked better? Did Nibali bluffed as he was ingeniously hiding a bad day by forcing Roglic to work?

Nah Roglic didn't look great either.

Think Zaka looked the best tbh. May not have been the best idea to give Zaka 3 minutes. If he wins I won't even be mad, I'll just shrug and chuckle.

Nibali and Roglic in s.t. is probably the best for the race though. Think if either had dropped the other that suspense would've been gone.

Still have hopes for mythical 3rd week Nibali.

What do you mean still? If he was bad today (we'll never now) then it was a stroke of genius to trick Roglic into working, doing the Lombardia stuff (he tricked Pinot a few times), if he was good and was only playing tactical games then he'll take off tomorrow, or next week or after next week. Seriously, apart from Roglic I don't think there's a stronger rider than him in the race and we have all been told he will fade at some point.

 

[Forever The Best]

What I saw was that neither Nibali nor Roglic were among the 3 strongest today. I think he made a good decision of inviting more riders to the battle, which may be a huge problem for Roglic, but the way Movi duo and Zaka looked they may be a huge problem for Nibali as well.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

From the article:
Nibali revealed that Roglic never speaks to him but follows him throughout the race.

Giving him the silent treatment :razz:

I get some very absurd mental images from reading that - maybe because Roglic has always seemed like an odd character to me.

I also found Nibali's comments about Jumbo Visma interesting. Maybe the team does hold a grudge of sorts against Nibali for the way he out-descended Kruijswijk on Agnello in 2016. Still, even if it was the case, I would not expect that Nibali mentioned it so explicitly.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

What I saw was that neither Nibali nor Roglic were among the 3 strongest today. I think he made a good decision of inviting more riders to the battle, which may be a huge problem for Roglic, but the way Movi duo and Zaka looked they may be a huge problem for Nibali as well.

Sure it's risky. When he made the infamous comments after the race in the minivan, he first looked at a phone were there were the results/gaps of the stage and he didn't look particularly happy. But I heard there will be rain tomorrow on San Carlo.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

From the article:
Nibali revealed that Roglic never speaks to him but follows him throughout the race.

Giving him the silent treatment :razz:

I get some very absurd mental images from reading that - maybe because Roglic has always seemed like an odd character to me.

I also found Nibali's comments about Jumbo Visma interesting. Maybe the team does hold a grudge of sorts against Nibali for the way he out-descended Kruijswijk on Agnello in 2016. Still, even if it was the case, I would not expect that Nibali mentioned it so explicitly.

I just imagine Vincenzo minding his own business on the way to the hotel room when he sees Roglic randomly standing just outside the window, quietly staring at him.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

Stage 20 can bring huge gaps if they go all-out in Manghen, and after seeing today I think there may be an all-out war on Manghen like Finestre last year.

I agree. Manghen war seems likely right now.

 

[Lequack]

Re: Re:

From the article:
Nibali revealed that Roglic never speaks to him but follows him throughout the race.

Giving him the silent treatment :razz:

I get some very absurd mental images from reading that - maybe because Roglic has always seemed like an odd character to me.

I also found Nibali's comments about Jumbo Visma interesting. Maybe the team does hold a grudge of sorts against Nibali for the way he out-descended Kruijswijk on Agnello in 2016. Still, even if it was the case, I would not expect that Nibali mentioned it so explicitly.

I just imagine Vincenzo minding his own business on the way to the hotel room when he sees Roglic randomly standing just outside the window, quietly staring at him.

Oh man that would be mental.

 

[rick james]

"I said to him: 'If you also want to come and do a photo at my house, I'll show you my collection of trophies whenever you want…"

if a British rider who was born in Kenya came away with a comment like that after a race then this place would be going absolutely bonkers....it would be pitchforks and hanging talk

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

"I said to him: 'If you also want to come and do a photo at my house, I'll show you my collection of trophies whenever you want…"

if a British rider who was born in Kenya came away with a comment like that after a race then this place would be going absolutely bonkers....it would be pitchforks and hanging talk

Well it would be very strange from a rider who would still be surrounded by 4 teammates to get into the same situation no?

 

[zlev11]

Froome would never say anything that cool

 

[Rollthedice]

We are kind of missing the point here. Pallini said Nibali is molto tranquillo, everything is fine and then when asked if he is aware that Vincenzo wins only when he gets angry, he replied: He'll find a way to get angry at something, don't worry. Now you have it.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

Best quote of the day:

Nibali to Roglic: "if he wants to follow me also at my home he can do a photo with me and I can show him my trophies" #Giro

https://t.co/MPpmUDHGtN

Great comment, but funny at the start of the Giro he was whingeing about Yates’ interview and that riders should respect each other more. :lol:

Pot and kettle Vincenzo, nobody likes a hypocrite.

Nibali has always been like this, I’m not sure why we should be that surprised. although he’s normally like this when he’s in a bad place, can’t remember this much bad mouthing in 2016 or 2013 or 2014 (although in that years he was so far ahead of the rest that, well, he didn’t need to piss off anyone)

 

[jaylew]

Re:

"I said to him: 'If you also want to come and do a photo at my house, I'll show you my collection of trophies whenever you want…"

if a British rider who was born in Kenya came away with a comment like that after a race then this place would be going absolutely bonkers....it would be pitchforks and hanging talk

What’s your point? That Nibali is more liked than Froome? Of course he is, and for several reasons, only one of which being clinic issues.

 

[huge]

Nibali seems quite nervous.

I don't know if it is because he feels his shape is not as good as expected at this stage or if he is genuinely frustrated by the way Roglic is riding, which is pretty irritating, to be honest.

He won't be able to ride that passively for much longer. As Nibali said, if he keeps riding that way, he's not going to win, as attacks will come thick and fast and today he has laready lost big chunks of his advantages, letting Landa, Zakarin and Majka fully back into contention.

He is lucky that Yates is showing such a poor shape.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

Nibali fans just should pray for Gavia and let him do the magic there on that stage. I dont think stage 17 (could be proven wrong here) and 19 will matter much and stage 20 is kinda of a weird stage.

Gavia

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re: Re:

"I said to him: 'If you also want to come and do a photo at my house, I'll show you my collection of trophies whenever you want…"

if a British rider who was born in Kenya came away with a comment like that after a race then this place would be going absolutely bonkers....it would be pitchforks and hanging talk

What’s your point? That Nibali is more liked than Froome? Of course he is, and for several reasons, only one of which being clinic issues.

Doesn’t make it any less hypocritical, for fans or riders. It’s also best not to bring up ‘clinic issues’ when trying to justify a point, on a part of the forum where you know clinic issue cannot be discussed.

FWIW I have no issue with what was said, it’s good to have some spice to interviews, just like riders such as Cavendish and Wiggins used to do. Hopefully there are some more to come from Nibali.

 

[SafeBet]

What he said about Roglic wasn't meant as a joke. He was upset, mostly because he knows he made mistakes and/or didn't have the legs to be in the right moves. He doesn't really have a team to force a selection and that's what he needs at this point of his career. That's why I said that Bernal's injury would be detrimental for Nibali's chances in this Giro. Nibali has been seen by some as an anti-Sky icon in the past but he's actually one of the riders who benefits the most from their approach to races (when in form at least).
He can push those 400 watts forever.

I don't know what the plan for today was. If he doesn't want to be the one closing every attack there's a simple way to do it: be in the attack.

To me, this is a 4 men race: Nibs, Rogla and the Movi duo. I don't trust any other rider to be as consistent over three weeks. Can he use Carapaz or Landa's attacks to drop Roglic?

 

[movingtarget]

Nibali seems quite nervous.

I don't know if it is because he feels his shape is not as good as expected at this stage or if he is genuinely frustrated by the way Roglic is riding, which is pretty irritating, to be honest.

He won't be able to ride that passively for much longer. As Nibali said, if he keeps riding that way, he's not going to win, as attacks will come thick and fast and today he has laready lost big chunks of his advantages, letting Landa, Zakarin and Majka fully back into contention.

He is lucky that Yates is showing such a poor shape.

Maybe because it's his last good opportunity to podium a Giro. I think he's just playing mind games but Roglic is just ignoring it as he should. It looks like they are playing the long game but as the GC has closed up, they can't keep letting riders go up the road which puts more pressure on both of them especially when others may refuse to work with them. To me they both look solid at the moment. Landa has to keep attacking as does Lopez. Yates is out of it already. But Carapaz and Zakarin will have to be watched. Mollema generally has a a bad day but he is riding well as is Majka.

 

[chiocciolis_calves]

He should be able to work over Roglic by the last weekend, but we'll see.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re: Re:

This thread is reminding me more and more of Alberto Contador in the later years. And I love it.

Contador thread was great in it's first few months too.

I think that a lot of people attempted to fill the Contador hole with Nibali. Very different riders, but both have had very colourful careers.

I found myself re-reading the beginning of the Contador thread about a year ago; highly amusing times at the time of his ban. LaFlo was super emotional at that time and many people on here thought that she was some kind of crazy person. Fortunately most of us warmed to her, and she also calmed down just a little

 

[gregrowlerson]

Re:

This will make things very easy for me, you see, I was wondering whether Nibali was a likeable rider or not. Now, if he goes to BMC, clearly he isn't a cool rider and nobody should support him. If he goes to Astana on the other hand, chances are he'll turn out to be a very cool rider, very likeable, and I'll cheer for him.

A nugget from page one of this thread.

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

"I said to him: 'If you also want to come and do a photo at my house, I'll show you my collection of trophies whenever you want…"

if a British rider who was born in Kenya came away with a comment like that after a race then this place would be going absolutely bonkers....it would be pitchforks and hanging talk

What’s your point? That Nibali is more liked than Froome? Of course he is, and for several reasons, only one of which being clinic issues.

its not about being more liked(that's all guess work on your par anyway) if Froome the king of the Anglo Saxons talked like that this place would go daft and you know it would

 

[rick james]

Anyway I like what he done in the race yesterday, it sets us up nicely for a good fight

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

What he said about Roglic wasn't meant as a joke. He was upset, mostly because he knows he made mistakes and/or didn't have the legs to be in the right moves. He doesn't really have a team to force a selection and that's what he needs at this point of his career. That's why I said that Bernal's injury would be detrimental for Nibali's chances in this Giro. Nibali has been seen by some as an anti-Sky icon in the past but he's actually one of the riders who benefits the most from their approach to races (when in form at least).
He can push those 400 watts forever.

I don't know what the plan for today was. If he doesn't want to be the one closing every attack there's a simple way to do it: be in the attack.

To me, this is a 4 men race: Nibs, Rogla and the Movi duo. I don't trust any other rider to be as consistent over three weeks. Can he use Carapaz or Landa's attacks to drop Roglic?

Yes, he wasn't too happy. It all began when he made a test move and was closed down by Majka and Carapaz, Roglic was on their wheel. Then Majka went and soon Carapaz. He looked at Roglic who had no reaction and he did the same, whether he couldn't follow or we was unwilling. When Carapaz was gone Roglic started pacing and the duo was formed leaving him in a potentially dangerous position.

What if Roglic is stronger and he'll get dropped, it was a direct confrontation. He attacked him once and Roglic did the same later with no consequences hence his remark afterwards that they are equal for now.

So, clearly not in Hautacam mode, managed his direct rival but the race situation put him in a more delicate situation. Today is a big day.