Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

[maxmartin]

So who will be able to help Nibali on the cobbles in case sh!t happens? I could be missing something, but I'm not seeing a Stannard, Tosatto, Cancellara, Hoshovd, Langeveld or similar on the team. Could this be a problem?

I think people are exaggerating this stage a little too much, in the end most likely a boring and uneventful stage when everyone is on their toes.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

I think people are exaggerating this stage a little too much, in the end most likely a boring and uneventful stage when everyone is on their toes.

Unlike guys such as Costa, TJVG, Talansky etc, Nibali goes into the race as a major player. Don't think he can afford to play with the odds on such a stage. Imagine +2mins on stage 5. Game over. Early.

 

[trevim]

I think people are exaggerating this stage a little too much, in the end most likely a boring and uneventful stage when everyone is on their toes.

Except if there are crashes like 2010. That's was the only thing that caused gaps back then.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Maybe I missed this but has Maxim left Astana? He's a more than capable cobbles rider.

yea. Maxim has been in thefight for top 10s in rvv the last couple of years. Not as impressive in PR though. Nonteless, Nibalis bike handling will probably make him the strongest gc rider at the cobbles.

 

[Gloin22]

Maybe I missed this but has Maxim left Astana? He's a more than capable cobbles rider.

There's massive difference between doing well in RVV ( Maxim good results ) and PR ( none ).

Many climbers do well at Ronde, as shown by Eneco and Voeckler last year etc. Paris Roubaix is different kettle of fish.

 

[maxmartin]

anyway not surprisingly another tailor made route for cf or w, since it starts at England

 

[trevim]

Bozic, Muravyev, Gryvko and Inglinsky are more than capable of doing the work on the flats. Nibali's only problem may be a crash/puncture at a bad time.

 

[rghysens]

Nibali's only problem may be a crash/puncture at a bad time.

I'm afraid Nibali's only problems will be Froome, Quintana and maybe Contador.

 

[trevim]

I'm afraid Nibali's only problems will be Froome, Quintana and maybe Contador.

Yeah I expect them to crush Nibali on the cobbles. Even Cancellara is afraid Quintana may turn up in Paris-Roubaix.

 

[Pippo_San]

Except if there are crashes like 2010. That's was the only thing that caused gaps back then.

And once again the combo Schleck bros + Cancellara.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

 

[movingtarget]

I'm afraid Nibali's only problems will be Froome, Quintana and maybe Contador.

On all stages especially mountains and the TT, maybe not Quintana in the TT. Cobbles are just another concern for everyone.

 

[darwin553]

Nibali's odds for the overall win would have come down with the release of the TdF route. Sky will be disappointed with the route I would have thought

 

[fraserhughes]

Barring punchures I don't think the cobbles themselves are the biggest difficulty in this stage - it is the classics style racing, tactics and jostling for position they create that will be key.

In that respect I think classics and 1 day racing experience are as important if not more so that time on the actual cobbles. Nibs is a good one day racer and will have good support, I think he will fair better that most of the GC guys.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

'Nibali could ride Flanders to prepare for the Tour de France' says headline related to article on CN.

Remove the word "prepare" and whats not to like about the Shark. Chapeau.

 

[Carols]

'Nibali could ride Flanders to prepare for the Tour de France' says headline related to article on CN.

Remove the word "prepare" and whats not to like about the Shark. Chapeau.

Have to love the guy No whining, just get on with it!

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

'Nibali could ride Flanders to prepare for the Tour de France' says headline related to article on CN.

Remove the word "prepare" and whats not to like about the Shark. Chapeau.

It should be "Nibali could ride to win RVV just to scare the other gc contenders before the tour de france"

 

[fraserhughes]

It should be "Nibali could ride to win RVV just to scare the other gc contenders before the tour de france"

10 char

 

[JRanton]

Nibali's odds for the overall win would have come down with the release of the TdF route. Sky will be disappointed with the route I would have thought

Why do you think they'll be disappointed with the route?

 

[webvan]

With Froome the best ITTer, another ITT in the middle like in 2012 wouldn't have hurt...on the other hand the route rules out any ambitions for Wiggo so that makes life easier for them.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

So, who else here besides me is expecting Nibalis steady improvment both in the mountians and in the tts to continue next year?

 

[The Blues]

So, who else here besides me is expecting Nibalis steady improvment both in the mountians and in the tts to continue next year?

I, for one, hope he will. And I also think he will have to, if he wants to beat Froome at the Tour. If he doesn't improve I still think he'll podium, but not more than that. He needs to be better than ever.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

So, who else here besides me is expecting Nibalis steady improvment both in the mountians and in the tts to continue next year?

I don't see him getting better than his performance in the Giro this year. Maxed out imo. So he will need to use the team to hurt Froome or hope an opportunity arise out of the blue.

 

[maxmartin]

"The thing I like about Vincenzo is that he's a real racer. He's a fighter, he's aggressive and never gives up. He can transform a stage into a trap, he's creative and courageous."

"He always gives 100%. You can see his talented and has a modern way of racing. Just think what he can do on the difficult stages and there are a lot of them. On the pave where he's definitely better than Froome. I've seen him ride on the dirt roads at the Giro and then look how good he is on the bike on the descents when it rains."

Kudos to Dave Brailsford, but sill think he looks too much like Lord Voldemort.

 

[Pentacycle]

Contadore will teach him.

 

[roundabout]

Gravel is not really cobbles.