Red Rick said:
At least it might make the difference between putting up a performance that makes going to the Tour worthwile.
Nibali is at a weird crossroads in his career. He's won everything he realistically can win, he's still competitive for the big targets he has, but he's always walking a fine line between being competitive and being ****.
Crossroad indeed. That's why I think he shouldn't waste a year doing a lot of sacrifices to go for the Tour.
I mean, he is better this year than in the last, but in 2018 he will be 34. Going to the Tour is wasting what could possibly be the last year of his career where he can show he can still contest a GT, so imo he should ride either the Giro, or the Vuelta.
Being competitive at the Tour simply isn't enough for him and I can't really see him doing a top-5 next year with the likes of Froome, Porte, Pinot, Dumoulin, Quintana and a couple more others.
But then again, like you said, he has won everything a GT rider can win, so I guess he has nothing to lose (maybe his ego).