Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

[gregrowlerson]

So....why was this thread nearly off page one?

Anyone hitting the panic button yet?

Someone did joke about him losing 2 or 4 minutes to Thomas and Yates on Etna and saying no worries.....maybe that was combined with the ITT

But taking time on Fuglsang means that he wasn't too bad. And nobody wins the Giro on day one.

 

[Gigs_98]

Yeah it's weird. Stage went horribly for him but he looked decent so don't think it's time for hitting the panic button.

 

[Red Rick]

Among the best of the late starters.

Giro in the bag

Ffs I did the rain dance thing and guess what

Now it's raining over here instead of over there.

 

[Climbing]

Huge mistake by the team... form seems good though.

 

[SafeBet]

I'm sure being better than Fuglsang and only one second behind Kelderman will have a totally different meaning a couple of weeks from now, when one of them will be 5 minutes down and the other one at home.

But yeah for now it's really cool.

 

[Eclipse]

The legs are good, the start time wasn't.

I'm feeling pretty good now, I was scared of taking a packet on Etna but I think any losses will be manageable. Still not an ideal place but he's always been a racer who finds a way to make what needs to happen happen.

 

[Red Rick]

I'm sure being better than Fuglsang and only one second behind Kelderman will have a totally meaning a couple of weeks from now, when one of them will be 5 minutes down and the other one at home.

But yeah for now it's really cool.

Ofcourse the time loss is really bad, but the references for his form are fine. Nibali could lose the Giro in the first week if he's really bad, and he was never gonna win it here.

It is still in the bag.

 

[Climbing]

Btw I did time with the stopwatch and 1st intermediate is wrong, 1m 47sec for me.
Or something was wrong with Tissot, dunno.
And I calculated the start time and finish time, should be 16'39 sec
Started at 15:57:44 finished at 16:14:23, just saying.

 

[SafeBet]

Ofcourse the time loss is really bad, but the references for his form are fine. Nibali could lose the Giro in the first week if he's really bad, and he was never gonna win it here.

It is still in the bag.

How much time do you expect Nibali to lose to Thomas in the second ITT?

 

[Red Rick]

How much time do you expect Nibali to lose to Thomas in the second ITT?

Depends on the form. 1'30 or so?

The win conditino is still there, it's still the same. If Nibali loses this Giro by less than half a minute I'll just get really sad then drunk and I'll manage cause at least the magic is still there.

 

[SafeBet]

Depends on the form. 1'30 or so?

I like your optimism.

Meanwhile Slongo says they thoroughly checked the weather forecast and thought the wind wasn't gonna change all day.

 

[luckyboy]

A minute down after 1 TT and still 50km of TTs to go.

Hard to imagine him taking what, 3 minutes on Thomas anywhere..

 

[Rollthedice]

Depends on the form. 1'30 or so?

The win conditino is still there, it's still the same. If Nibali loses this Giro by less than half a minute I'll just get really sad then drunk and I'll manage cause at least the magic is still there.

Horner, Brokeback mountain, Carapaz and the wind.

 

[Red Rick]

Horner, Brokeback mountain, Carapaz and the wind.

Iglinsky. Rio. 2017 Vuelta.

We best look ahead.

 

[Red Rick]

I like your optimism.

Meanwhile Slongo says they thoroughly checked the weather forecast and thought the wind wasn't gonna change all day.

Did I miss Thomas now being a magically better ITTer than peak Dumoulin? Cause Nibali's recent GT ITTs haven't been that bad.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Very good TT and somewhat surprising that he was better than Fuglsang and Kruijswijk. Obviously the loss to Thomas and Yates says nothing about his form because of the wind conditions, so the real story is that he finished around Kelderman and took 15-20 seconds on Kruijswijk and Fuglsang. People who say the race is over and a two-man-battle between the two Brits are clueless...

 

[Rollthedice]

A minute down after 1 TT and still 50km of TTs to go.

Hard to imagine him taking what, 3 minutes on Thomas anywhere..

Thing is the voodoo works better when Nibali is on form, which I think he is. Long way to Milano.

 

[italoc]

In the 2017 Vuelta ITT, an in-form Nibs lost 28 seconds to Kelderman.
Same time today.
I'm still optimistic, the level is good.
And let's be honest, wind or not, if Thomas has 2018-19 Tour shape, there is no way to beat him (other than voodoo).

 

[SafeBet]

In the 2017 Vuelta ITT, an in-form Nibs lost 28 seconds to Kelderman.
Same time today.
I'm still optimistic, the level is good.
And let's be honest, wind or not, if Thomas has 2018-19 Tour shape, there is no way to beat him (other than voodoo).

2018 I agree.
2019 I'm not too sure he could handle the multimountain monsters in the third week.

 

[Carols]

In the 2017 Vuelta ITT, an in-form Nibs lost 28 seconds to Kelderman.
Same time today.
I'm still optimistic, the level is good.
And let's be honest, wind or not, if Thomas has 2018-19 Tour shape, there is no way to beat him (other than voodoo).

First Thomas has to stay on his bike. Not the best bike handler and this is the Giro not le Tour.

I'm just glad that Nibali has some form. I think he will only get Better ,

 

[Netserk]

At least 40'' too much. I'm not sure what it will change, no matter what he has to distance Thomas on Stelvio uphill or downhill. But the weather today is acceptable if it plays nice for the rest of the race (so horrible conditions without cancellations).

 

[Rollthedice]

At least 40'' too much. I'm not sure what it will change, no matter what he has to distance Thomas on Stelvio uphill or downhill. But the weather today is acceptable if it plays nice for the rest of the race (so horrible conditions without cancellations).

Best TT since with Trek, he has to do his race, maybe try to step up a gear sooner if possible. Unfortunate event today but if he has last year's legs it's doable.

 

[Rollthedice]

Reaction of @vincenzonibali:

"If I look at my performance, I judge it in line with the expectations we have - I am satisfied. The gaps amongst the direct competitors are close, with the obvious exception of Gerraint Thomas, who rode really strong. "

"Generally speaking, the only note to highlight on this stage is the wind factor that, numbers in hand, affected the final results quite a bit. Having said this, chapeau to Thomas for his performance, and now let’s look to the next stages."

Here's an awesome picture of a shark spotted in Palermo:

 

[SafeBet]

They're showing some Velon numbers on RAI.
Last 3 km of the ITT:

Thomas 3'32"
Nibali 3'36"
Yates 3'45"

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

They're showing some Velon numbers on RAI.
Last 3 km of the ITT:

Thomas 3'32"
Nibali 3'36"
Yates 3'45"

Yates really did save a lot of time by paying attention to the weather forecast