La Gazzetta delo Sport; May 21, 2022
‘Shark Sails Off Shore For Good’
And so it was, that on Friday, Vicenzo Nibali rode away from the Giro d’Italia – and from professional cycling – for the final time. It was unexpected. As with much of the Sicilian’s storied career, this was spontaneous. ‘The Shark’ explained to La Gazzetta as to why he didn’t line up for stage 13:
“I wanted to finish my final Giro, I really did,” Nibali began, “but yesterday changed everything”.
Yesterday being stage twelve, from Parma to Genova of course. It had been a much maligned stage, and Vicenzo had been as disappointed as the next fan boy. “I really liked the original design,” he stated, “but then they blew it up, all for a bridge. So initially I resigned myself to this being a quiet day, but then on the morning, I woke up, and I don’t know if it was sensations that I was feeling, but I felt something. And I knew that today was a day to race. A day to really race.”
And nobody supports the theory more, that riders make the race, then Vicenzo Nibali.
Yet Nibali being Nibali; he didn’t even attack at the only place where attacks seemed possible, on the Valico Di Trensasco. Though Vincenzo quickly put a dampener on any tactical masterpiece mythology there: “I’m thirty-seven, so you know, the legs don’t climb quite as easily as they used to. I wanted to attack on the Trensasco, but I was on my limit, and almost off the back. To go on the descent would have been even better, but by the time I was back up the front and recovered, the descent was over.”
Vicenzo looked around and saw twenty plus riders still in the peloton, but one familiar face kept his hopes alive for the stage victory: “When I looked across and saw Alejandro, I knew there was still a chance. I knew that if I could just sneak away, that with Valverde there, that the group might be disorganised.”
Nibali had of course seen it all before. But surely this was a bridge too far? For the run in was flat.
“I knew how beautiful the monument was, as we entered the port of Genova, and I hoped that my rivals would become tourists, just for a moment.”
And a moment would be all he needed. Once The Shark smells blood in the water your summer holidays are as good as over.
His general classification chances may have erupted as early as Etna, but this win more than made up for it.
“I didn’t think that this stage victory was any more special than the others, but when I looked behind me and saw Alejandro take second place, I knew my story was complete. I always liked what Alberto did on the Angliru, but even then he continued on, to basically say that the fourth place is only good for Matthews. I knew that my time to retire was now, right now.”
And there was one final factor that fully confirmed that Vincenzo Nibali's decision was the right one.
"When I woke up today I thought to myself: The Shark doesn't line up for races that merely start in Sanremo."