Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

[bassano]

I am curious why you are still responding to portugal11, it is such waste of time

I apreciate that Nibali know even other races beside tour, he is not only one, also Quintana did his main target Giro in 2014 and if he will win TdF I think he will return to giro again, as Contador choosed Giro as his main target in several occasions it is simple, only shame is that Froome know only TdF, it would be nice to see him in Giro which usually have harder parcours

 

[Scarponi]

How much more respect would nibs get if he nailed that giro vuelta double without papa throwing out the most absurd 10km of the decade on the angrilu

 

[bassano]

Re:

How much more respect would nibs get if he nailed that giro vuelta double without papa throwing out the most absurd 10km of the decade on the angrilu

And not only that ones on Angliru, I am still wonder how Horner managed such heroic effort in his age with his previous palmares

 

[SeriousSam]

Re: Re:

If a rider believes he has a reasonable chance to win the Tour, he makes it his main target. It's as simple as that.

And what if a rider has done this, won the Tour and then decides to "target" something else. Can this not happen?

Let's put it this way. Unless a great many Tour victories have been amassed already, it would never happen if said rider believed himself to be the favourite to win the Tour. It becomes more likely, but still not likely, if said rider is not the outright favourite but amongst those with a reasonable chance to win.

It's because in terms of palmares, money, status in the sport, everything, the Tour reigns supreme.

 

[Oliver]

Do you guys never stop with the discussion Nibali - Contador - Froome?? LOL
Nibali is just working on his own career, I don't think he cares about the others and he doesn't see last Tour as a humiliation. Okay he had not the same legs then in 2014 but unfortunately he had some bad luck: sick in the first week & flat tire before Alpe D'huez. Do you really think he's avoiding the others?? He doesn't care about the Tour only so it's not strange he wants to do the Giro next year. He still stays an Italian!

 

[jsem94]

Re: Re:

How much more respect would nibs get if he nailed that giro vuelta double without papa throwing out the most absurd 10km of the decade on the angrilu

And not only that ones on Angliru, I am still wonder how Horner managed such heroic effort in his age with his previous palmares

It's the Vuelta man. Expect the unexpected. Always.

 

[bassano]

Re: Re:

Let's put it this way. Unless a great many Tour victories have been amassed already, it would never happen if said rider believed himself to be the favourite to win the Tour. It becomes more likely, but still not likely, if said rider is not the outright favourite but amongst those with a reasonable chance to win.

It's because in terms of palmares, money, status in the sport, everything, the Tour reigns supreme.

Maybe for you, but you probably did not realised yet that not only from some members here but even for some cyclist even best ones Tour is not only race in season
Do you think Contador did not have chance to win Tour 2008? Strange that he choosed Giro, it is just one of many case so maybe your Tour de France world is not so allmighty

 

[SeriousSam]

He 'chose' to do the Giro because his team was barred from competing in the Tour. 2015 marked the first time in his career that Contador compromised the Tour being his main target of his own volition, and we still do not know the extent to which this decision was effected by what he believed his chances to win the Tour were.

Btw, I'm not saying the Tour is the only important race. I'm saying that he who believes himself to be the favourite to win it will make it his main target, and he who believes himself to have a reasonable chance to win it will very likely make it his main target.

 

[portugal11]

i'm waiting for tirreno adriatico just to see contador against nibali...

 

[jalep]

Re: Re:

[quote="Rollthedice"

This fear stuff is a lot of crap, something made up by certain posters here. It doesn't even worth to respond to that but anyway. Aru is Vino's hot property right now and he has to show up at the Tour rather sooner than later. On the other hand Nibz really likes Il Giro, the parcours is great for him and it's a great opportunity to double the wins. I bet the organizers, his co-nationals I would add, are praying he will come since they will probably don't get another cycling great next year. He hinted at this possibility then maybe doing Le Tour helping Aru then the Olympics in Rio. This programme could also mean he will be much better in spring, I would be ecstatic if he could win another important classic maybe even LBL.[/quote]

Yep, amen, Rtd. A shed load of that fear crap - they really like shoveling it
And sure do hope you are right about Nibz going to Il Giro. Also LBL. Only races with soul for Lo Squalo fingers crossed.

And who's saying he's better than Bertie? I saying he's better than Vroomie - More fun to watch and way more balls. Vroomie needs his choo choo sky train and power meter plugged in to function.

 

[46&twoWheels]

"the tour reigns supreme"
only in the minds of those who started watching cycling "last week" with the beginning of SKY dominance and are unaware of what lies beyond the illusions that anglo-saxon media feeds them.
I think those "cycling fans" will disappear as soon as Froome retires,as happened with Armstrong.

Nibali "unfortunately" does not rely on media attention to get consensus

 

[SeriousSam]

But the Tour is by far the most important race in cycling, in terms of every metric that isn't a purely mental construct of a certain subset of fans. Media coverage, fame, wages, sponsoring, what people involved in road cycling think, palmares, quality of competition, everything points to the Tour reigning supreme. The only ones pointing elsewhere are usually fans whose favourite riders might not have as much Tour success as they'd like. Just because you can't reach the grape, doesn't mean it's sour.

 

[jsem94]

When someone only enters the Tour: "he never races the Giro/Vuelta, he only cares about July, he's like Schleck".

When they decide to race the Giro: "he's only afraid of the big guns in the Tour, that's why he'll settle for something easier".

Seriously, is there anything you can do that doesn't lend itself to massive amounts of scrutiny from keyboard warriors.

 

[bassano]

Re:

But the Tour is by far the most important race in cycling, in terms of every metric that isn't a purely mental construct of a certain subset of fans. Media coverage, fame, wages, sponsoring, what people involved in road cycling think, palmares, quality of competition, everything points to the Tour reigning supreme. The only ones pointing elsewhere are usually fans whose favourite riders might not have as much Tour success as they'd like. Just because you can't reach the grape, doesn't mean it's sour.

So stop writing posts and return in July

 

[Angliru]

Re:

But the Tour is by far the most important race in cycling, in terms of every metric that isn't a purely mental construct of a certain subset of fans. Media coverage, fame, wages, sponsoring, what people involved in road cycling think, palmares, quality of competition, everything points to the Tour reigning supreme. The only ones pointing elsewhere are usually fans whose favourite riders might not have as much Tour success as they'd like. Just because you can't reach the grape, doesn't mean it's sour.

Some of the riders in the present and past, gc contenders, are and were actual fans of the sport and appreciate the passion the Italy has for the sport which is quite apparent in the Giro itself. All three of the grand tours has a different vibe and personality, which necessitates a different strategy/approach when raced. Of course the Tour is biggest/bigger event but a rider that wants to have Giro win on his palmares and actually enjoys the overall experience of competing in the Giro shouldn't come as a surprise. I get the impression from some that a Giro win is seen as a very poor substitute for simply racing for the gc in the Tour. That is sad.

 

[Son of Amsterhammer]

This will probably work out for the best all around. Nibs has a great shot at the Giro and we get to see Aru go up against the big players in peak condition. I wish Nibs would do the Tour again, but I understand his motivation here.

 

[SergeDeM]

Re:

But the Tour is by far the most important race in cycling, in terms of every metric that isn't a purely mental construct of a certain subset of fans...

How about the "how Italian are you?" metric?
In Italy, for an Italian, winning the Giro is just as important, if not more so, than winning the Tour.
Heck, even in Spain, for a Spaniard, there's not much difference between winning the Tour and the Vuelta.

 

[ice&fire]

Re: Re:

But the Tour is by far the most important race in cycling, in terms of every metric that isn't a purely mental construct of a certain subset of fans...

How about the "how Italian are you?" metric?
In Italy, for an Italian, winning the Giro is just as important, if not more so, than winning the Tour.
Heck, even in Spain, for a Spaniard, there's not much difference between winning the Tour and the Vuelta.

That's why Valverde was more moved after getting 3rd at the Tour than after winning the Vuelta

 

[Son of Amsterhammer]

Nibs has won the Giro though....it's not like it's some dream that has to be fulfilled still. I think he's being practical here and that's OK.

 

[staubsauger]

Re: Re:

But the Tour is by far the most important race in cycling, in terms of every metric that isn't a purely mental construct of a certain subset of fans...

How about the "how Italian are you?" metric?
In Italy, for an Italian, winning the Giro is just as important, if not more so, than winning the Tour.
Heck, even in Spain, for a Spaniard, there's not much difference between winning the Tour and the Vuelta.

That's why Valverde was more moved after getting 3rd at the Tour than after winning the Vuelta

The Vuelta clearly ain't as important as the Tour even in Spain.

The Giro though, in Italy certainly is!

Anyway, the Tour is for the media & pr. The Giro is for the passionists <3.

 

[Afrank]

Nibali isn't a Tour-centric rider. I get the feeling from him that he wants well-rounded palmares from a variety of races. GT's, short stage races, One-days, etc. Targeting the Giro every few years is a good plan and it gives him a little more freedom to mix and match the other races he will target.

 

[staubsauger]

Re:

Nibali isn't a Tour-centric rider. I get the feeling from him that he wants well-rounded palmares from a variety of races. GT's, short stage races, One-days, etc. Targeting the Giro every few years is a good plan and it gives him a little more freedom to mix and match the other races he will target.

I like him for that. He is doing this since his early years. The exact opposite of the stupid Armstrong mentality.

Except P-N and Basque Country he has won all important stage races as TdS ain't that important anymore nowadays and Dauphine is still a preparation race.

 

[jsem94]

I am grateful that there are some people who share my opinion on this. After two years of solely focusing on the Tour, he finds it within himself to target the Giro once again. I don't see that as a cop-out. What is he going to do? Just race the Tour for 5 years straight with nothing else in mind?

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

I am grateful that there are some people who share my opinion on this. After two years of solely focusing on the Tour, he finds it within himself to target the Giro once again. I don't see that as a cop-out. What is he going to do? Just race the Tour for 5 years straight with nothing else in mind?

Aint nobody blamed him for racing the Tour, but how he approached the rest of the season. Especially in 2014, but overall that year, it was more than worth it.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

Nibali isn't a Tour-centric rider. I get the feeling from him that he wants well-rounded palmares from a variety of races. GT's, short stage races, One-days, etc. Targeting the Giro every few years is a good plan and it gives him a little more freedom to mix and match the other races he will target.

I like him for that. He is doing this since his early years. The exact opposite of the stupid Armstrong mentality.

Except P-N and Basque Country he has won all important stage races as TdS ain't that important anymore nowadays and Dauphine is still a preparation race.

He won only Tirreno-Adriatico, other than GT's.., and it's not bigger than Dauphine or Suisse