Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

[classicomano]

Re:

What a rider. He better go all the way in Liege now, too.

Yes, yes he should.

 

[SafeBet]

I so want him to stop racing GTs after this year TdF and focus only on Classics.

What a legend!

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

I so want him to stop racing GTs after this year TdF and focus only on Classics.

What a legend!

y not both?

 

[Climbing]

Speechless.
Legendary rider.

 

[franic]

Re:

I so want him to stop racing GTs after this year TdF and focus only on Classics.

What a legend!

He can still win a couple of Giros and Vueltas (no Tour, IMHO).

 

[jfazendeiro]

I would say this was the race, from those missing in his palmares, he wanted more to win. At the same time is also were is more difficult to do so, be it for those usually focused in GT's, for him, even for sprinters, for everyone. Peter Sagan failled for the 6th time. Achieving it in an edition without Le Manie and unfavorable conditions to attack turns it even more memorable. Understandable tears.

 

[italoc]

This may be the best win of his entire career. Career-defining.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

I so want him to stop racing GTs after this year TdF and focus only on Classics.

What a legend!

He can still win a couple of Giros and Vueltas (no Tour, IMHO).

Perhaps, but he has to do it next year at the latest because the new generation will be 2020 be on top in GTs. Last year at the vuelta in the mountains he was level with Froome, but Froome is also declining at that level. At the Giro he wasn't great. And anyway, he'll have 4/5 GTs by the end of his career anyway, I don't see how a fifth on the road will change it that much anyway. Liege and the worlds add much more to his palmares, showing just how verstaile he is. Obviously Flanders is a bit of pipe dream but that too. Who else could claim to have different monuments, and all three gts? Only merckx, hinault and gimondi.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

This may be the best win of his entire career. Career-defining.

Yes. His reaction says it all really. This is the one he always wanted but never expected to win.

Firenze and Rio will always be the ones that got away.

Vincenzo Nibali will never have a hole in his legacy for lack of trying

 

[Climbing]

He's getting congraturalted by a bazillions other riders and stuff!
Merckx by phone immediately after the end of the race, tweets by Contador, Valverde, Basso, Rodriguez, Roche, Sagan, Demare, Aru, Cassani, etc. etc.
Must be overwhelming!

Edit: from Sagan rofl :lol: "Congratulations also from my side to @vincenzonibali for his attack and victory. He was the only one to show he had the balls today!"

 

[Koronin]

Re:

He's getting congraturalted by a bazillions other riders and stuff!
Merckx by phone immediately after the end of the race, tweets by Contador, Valverde, Basso, Rodriguez, Roche, Sagan, Demare, Aru, Cassani, etc. etc.
Must be overwhelming!

Edit: from Sagan rofl :lol: "Congratulations also from my side to @vincenzonibali for his attack and victory. He was the only one to show he had the balls today!"

He deserves it.

 

[Laplaz]

Nibali greatest italian rider after Coppi and Bartali?

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

What a rider. He better go all the way in Liege now, too.

He usually races Liege, but remember that's Valverde's playground.

It has only been Valverde's playground since riders stopped making serious early moves. That might change again with Nibali this year.

Exactly, a great Nibali could make it super interesting and very hard for Valverde to win! I get why he wants to race Pais Vasco, but he is a very mediocre one week stage racer at this point, I'd really prefer him to prioritise Flanders over Pais Vasco.

 

[El Pistolero]

Re:

He's getting congraturalted by a bazillions other riders and stuff!
Merckx by phone immediately after the end of the race, tweets by Contador, Valverde, Basso, Rodriguez, Roche, Sagan, Demare, Aru, Cassani, etc. etc.
Must be overwhelming!

Edit: from Sagan rofl :lol: "Congratulations also from my side to @vincenzonibali for his attack and victory. He was the only one to show he had the balls today!"

Boonen called it a big numero, especially when he later discovered there was a strong headwind in the final kms of the race (he was the commentator of the Belgian broadcast). Also said he's one of the few cyclists that can win both classics and GTs and that he has distanced himself from the typical GT riders these last few years.

 

[May0maniac]

Pure class, that was awesome to watch!

 

[Blanco]

Re:

Nibali greatest italian rider after Coppi and Bartali?

Oh I don't know, maybe indeed.
Gimondi was great. Moser also. Bettini phenomenal. I guess Shark is easily in this company, and he might go above them...

 

[Sestriere]

Re: Re:

What a rider. He better go all the way in Liege now, too.

He usually races Liege, but remember that's Valverde's playground.

It has only been Valverde's playground since riders stopped making serious early moves. That might change again with Nibali this year.

Exactly, a great Nibali could make it super interesting and very hard for Valverde to win! I get why he wants to race Pais Vasco, but he is a very mediocre one week stage racer at this point, I'd really prefer him to prioritise Flanders over Pais Vasco.

On the other hand Pais Vasco has been the best preparation for the Ardennes in recent years.. It definitely shows that he is serious about LBL imo.

 

[El Pistolero]

Re: Re:

Nibali greatest italian rider after Coppi and Bartali?

Oh I don't know, maybe indeed.
Gimondi was great. Moser also. Bettini phenomenal. I guess Shark is easily in this company, and he might go above them...

His palmares resembles Gimondi the most.

But still, you can't compare riders of different generations like that.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re: Re:

What a rider. He better go all the way in Liege now, too.

He usually races Liege, but remember that's Valverde's playground.

It has only been Valverde's playground since riders stopped making serious early moves. That might change again with Nibali this year.

Exactly, a great Nibali could make it super interesting and very hard for Valverde to win! I get why he wants to race Pais Vasco, but he is a very mediocre one week stage racer at this point, I'd really prefer him to prioritise Flanders over Pais Vasco.

Pais Vasco is a training ride for the Ardennes and nobody prioritises Ronde when riding it for the first
time. As for LBL, there are also other dangerous riders, it's not only Valverde but after today I am confident Nibs will be at 100% and anything can happen.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

What a rider. He better go all the way in Liege now, too.

He usually races Liege, but remember that's Valverde's playground.

It has only been Valverde's playground since riders stopped making serious early moves. That might change again with Nibali this year.

Exactly, a great Nibali could make it super interesting and very hard for Valverde to win! I get why he wants to race Pais Vasco, but he is a very mediocre one week stage racer at this point, I'd really prefer him to prioritise Flanders over Pais Vasco.

Pais Vasco is a training ride for the Ardennes and nobody prioritises Ronde when riding it for the first
time. As for LBL, there are also other dangerous riders, it's not only Valverde but after today I am confident Nibs will be at 100% and anything can happen.

#prayforrain
#lotsofrain

 

[rghysens]

Re:

Nibali greatest italian rider after Coppi and Bartali?

No.
Gimondi has a way more impressive palmares. Which he gained against Merckx, De Vlaeminck, Zoetemelk, Poulidor, Fuente, an ageing Van Looy and Anquetil, a young Hinault,...

 

[GuyIncognito]

I've often pointed out he's been incredibly lucky with an unusual number of major wins coming because others were unlucky.

Nothing lucky about this. Fantastic win.
And this race needed a rider like him to win, it's been a long time.

 

[jens_attacks]

good to have squalo around
i really hope he can win liege and then focus on ronde and roubaix after this year.

 

[El Pistolero]

Re: Re:

Nibali greatest italian rider after Coppi and Bartali?

No.
Gimondi has a way more impressive palmares. Which he gained against Merckx, De Vlaeminck, Zoetemelk, Poulidor, Fuente, an ageing Van Looy and Anquetil, a young Hinault,...

The level in today's peloton is much higher now than in the '70s and there is also a lot more specialization today which makes it very hard to have a palmares as varied as Nibali.

Nibali would destroy Gimondi if they raced together in their prime.

As for palmares:

- They both won 5 (or 4) GTs (Gimondi got the '69 Giro gifted to him, Nibali will most likey get the 2017 Vuelta win)
- Gimondi won 4 Monuments and Nibali won 3 (but his career isn't over yet)
- Gimondi also won the WC

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

good to have squalo around
i really hope he can win liege and then focus on ronde and roubaix after this year.

He never got enough credit really