Did about what I expected, lost a minute to GC contenders today. Now a minute and a half or a little less behind top GC riders, I think he is precisely where he didn’t want to be - not completely beyond hope for a podium on the basis of time loss, but also pretty unlikely to get there. Currently at 20th in GC, which he can’t be happy with, and a lot of serious GC contenders between him and the podium.
Dropping time definitely makes the most sense, but I have never really thought Nibali particularly suited to stage hunting, or at least not from an early break. Think if he wants a stage, he is going to have to ride with the GC leaders, and either be the strongest on a stage, or hope that they will let him go at the end of the stage. A stage win is a stage win, I suppose, but am wondering if there is an argument for not dropping time.