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Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

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Time for The Comeback and Vegni's revenge.
  • teammates in the break - check
  • attack on the first descent with Pozzo - incoming
  • "accidental" landslide on the penultimate ascent of Sestriere after they get a good gap
  • Vegni stops the peloton apparently concerned for their health and safety, allows Nibali to build a 10min gap and stops the race
  • Nibali gets the win and Pozzo the podium
  • ???
  • Profit
:p
 
Sadly no final charge or daring gamble. The legs didn't have anything to give and if anything it's looked like they have had less and less each day.

A resigned retreat to the drawing board and for the first time I think there will be some different questions to contemplate this winter :(
 
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Reactions: Carols
Honestly a very forgettable Giro, and it's not just a matter of legs. He could have tried a long range attack when Puccio was pulling on the first Sestriere. He even had teammates ahead. He needs a reboot.

I'd say it was a weird Giro. Etna was normal, Rocarasso was normal, everything on track. Then random gregarios started to climb like Basso in 2006 and doing it in the third week. This type of next level post lockdown nuclear power climbing, steady hundreds of watts for hours killed him and everybody who can't do it. What attacks? I understand he wasn't in top shape but nevertheless he's almost 8 minutes down to Jai Hindley. And it's not even about the credentials of the Taos, Joaos and Bilbaos. It's the exceptional change that took place in the last 10 days. I can't see a reboot, the supersonic speeds will not go away next year. Let's see what a normal calendar brings.
 
Yeah, after Etna he was probably the biggest favourite. Thomas was out, Yates lost huge time, and he only lost time to Kelderman whose attack did not get any response, and with all due respect, it was Kelderman, who had a tendency of crashing/inconsistency/bad days.
And it's not like these random riders were good that day either. Hindley was dropped, Almeida was dropped, Bilbao was dropped, and TGH lost huge time.

Then they all started outclimbing Nibali. Like wtf?
 
Looked like Ivan Basso at the 2012 Giro to me. One of the favourites, aiming for 3rd win at the home GT, one last shot at a GT win at an old age, looking decent at the beginning and completely faltering in the end. There will be some serious questions indeed.
If I remember correctly Basso could have won/at least been on the podium in the Vuelta 2013 but DNF due to the sudden change to cold and rainy conditions in Andorra (?). Still hoping he could compete again for GC.
 
Yeah it's pretty weird how so many riders who did badly on Etna had a stellar third week. I would say they hit form at the right time but then you have guys like Bilbao who also rode the Tour so it looks kind of a stretch to assume that.

8 minutes down on the leaders is crazy for Nibs. I understand why he didn't attack, he was never one for showy attacks that come to nothing. When the Shark bites he likes to take a huge chunk of meat out of the bunch.
 
Yeah, after Etna he was probably the biggest favourite. Thomas was out, Yates lost huge time, and he only lost time to Kelderman whose attack did not get any response, and with all due respect, it was Kelderman, who had a tendency of crashing/inconsistency/bad days.
And it's not like these random riders were good that day either. Hindley was dropped, Almeida was dropped, Bilbao was dropped, and TGH lost huge time.

Then they all started outclimbing Nibali. Like wtf?

Not only Nibali, basically Jai and Hart destroyed to different extents everybody including Wilco in the form of his life.
 
8 minutes down on the leaders is crazy for Nibs. I understand why he didn't attack, he was never one for showy attacks that come to nothing. When the Shark bites he likes to take a huge chunk of meat out of the bunch.
He went for nonsense attacks both in the 2015 Tour and the 2016 Giro when he was minutes behind the leaders.
Attacks that resulted in nothing or time losses.

I think all the conservative riding he's done in the last few years made you guys forget the kind of rider he was earlier in his career.
 
What's the consensus here about what would have likely happened with Thomas in the race? I mean, hard to believe he would have been outclimbed or outTT'd by Hart. The duo - plus Ganna and Dennis - would have roflstomped™ the field.
Geraint Thomas? See Geoghegan Hart climbing except he would have had the race locked up after the stage 14 ITT so everything after would've been Dennis choo choo train except defensive
 
He went for nonsense attacks both in the 2015 Tour and the 2016 Giro when he was minutes behind the leaders.
Attacks that resulted in nothing or time losses.

I think all the conservative riding he's done in the last few years made you guys forget the kind of rider he was earlier in his career.

This Giro it was impossible after Etna where he was the first to attack in the headwind (everybody forgot that?) the group of favorites. No places until Pincavallo where he was hanging for dear life and then Rohan happened.
 
This year was atypical and made Trek seem like the retirement home of riders.
Nobody knows how governments will keep reacting to covid (even though one might argue that more lockdowns would be absolutely catastrophic), but even though I think 2021 will seem more "normal" than 2020, the damage to the confidence of some riders has been made.

The likes of Nibali, Valverde and Dumoulin (and some others) have time against them and you know the saying, for whom the bell tolls time marches on.

All in all, I expect Nibbles to target both the Giro and Olympics next year (who knows) and, perhaps, say his goodbye at Giro di Lombardia.

Nibbles will never be a disposable hero though. Long live the king.