Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

[Pippo_San]

Is it me or there's a new trophy in his bag?

 

[Eclipse]

I don't think so either. They're about being ready for what happens.

I think they'll be livelier than expected if the possibility of curtailing some of the big difference makers looms into focus so being prepared by then is ideal to avoid an ambush that you lose the chance to respond to

 

[Climbing]

I think he wants to test Vanhoucke, Kerlderman and Almeida as soon as possible (Caicedo already gone), maybe put a buffer on Kruijswijk quickly (considering his shaky form).
He doesn't want no more surprises this year and Etna gave him a huge boost of confidence.
I suspect he will be in pink (or virtual pink) way before third week, unless some surprises happen.

 

[Red Rick]

He was just trying to stay safe yesterday. Really he was taking the corners cautiously but kicking hard out of them. I do rate Nibs higher as a dry descender than a wet one.

 

[Gigs_98]

He was just trying to stay safe yesterday. Really he was taking the corners cautiously but kicking hard out of them. I do rate Nibs higher as a dry descender than a wet one.

Agreed. You could see it when he went guns blazing on the Civiglio descent in last years giro, but two days later he didn't even try to attack on the Mortirolo which very well might have become a giro winning move. There are those descents were only absolute mad men attack and I feel he hasn't been that for a few years now.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Hasn't he said that since he became a father, he didn't want to take the same risks any more? (which is understandable)
The crash at the Olympics probably didn't change his mind about that. If he's not pushing as much in training as he used to, he wont have the cutting edge to do it in races either.

 

[Climbing]

Yes, he said himself and was pretty obvious that he was in front to take no risks on the descent.
I meant on the ascent and he said himself they wanted to try and put pressure with the team, but wasn't really possible on those gradients, so they gave up.

 

[Climbing]

Hasn't he said that since he became a father, he didn't want to take the same risks any more? (which is understandable)
The crash at the Olympics probably didn't change his mind about that. If he's not pushing as much in training as he used to, he wont have the cutting edge to do it in races either.

Last year Giro at Como and this year Lombardia begs to differ, he still pushes descents when it's needed.

 

[Red Rick]

Last year Giro at Como and this year Lombardia begs to differ, he still pushes descents when it's needed.

I think Nibali considers strava record times on dry descents no unnecessary risks?

This descent was also the sort of descent where you can't really get away solo due to the big group and the few km of flat at the end, so going all out is incredibly poor risk/reward. I think Nibali taking it cautious still puts some stress on the others. Bird in particular didn't look too comfy, but yeah.

Mortirolo descent is indeed where he might have won the Giro. Probably not but we'll never know. Hindsight is 20/20, but I don't know at what point it became obvious Carapaz was basically a popsicle?

 

[gregrowlerson]

With Contador long retired, my prediction for Vincenzo Nibali's next sledge is along these lines:

"How many posts has your cycling news forum fans thread got?.....That's if you even have one."

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Last year Giro at Como and this year Lombardia begs to differ, he still pushes descents when it's needed.

I was mostly reffering to wet decents like the one yesterday, cause as those you mention clearly proves, he hasn't become a sunday rider.

 

[skippo12]

Thing is that even a cautious Nibali is pushing guys like Kruijswijk and suprisingly Fuglsang to their limit. I think if he really needs to he is able to create a gap with his descending skills. Obviously not against a group of 40 when teams like Sunweb have 3-4 guys remaining but without a doubt against isolated leaders after a hard climb.

 

[Eclipse]

No point taking huge risks at this point anyway.

I think you pretty clearly saw what he wanted, get out and stay safe, put a bit of pressure on in a risk free manner by accelerating hard out of corners in case others messed up and if any gaps did occur then perhaps he would have looked to kick on.

If he needs to be decisive on a descent we'll see him try.

 

[skippo12]

Clearly more of sprinter than a GC guy these days

 

[topcat]

Nibali can probably win the giro without attacking uphill or downhill. He can beat Fuglsang in the tts and he just has to stay with him in the mountains. The others are probably not going to be there in the high mountains.

 

[gerundium]

Didn't expect him to try something today. He really seems intent on keeping all the contenders on their toes, but it didn't stand a real chance.

 

[JosefK]

If Nibali is wearing pink in the final week of this Giro, I wonder whether there will be problems with crowd control on the stages (fans ignoring bans on gatherings)?

 

[italoc]

What. Was. That.
Why.
How.
I have so many questions, but one certainty: IN. THE. BAG.

 

[Climbing]

Young sprinters Nibali and Fulsgang battling it out, nothing strange to see.

 

[skippo12]

Sprinting is his guilty pleasure. He probably wanted to follow into the footsteps of Petacchi and Cipo. Sadly he never came close and settled for some minor GT and monument wins.

 

[Rollthedice]

Nibali can probably win the giro without attacking uphill or downhill. He can beat Fuglsang in the tts and he just has to stay with him in the mountains. The others are probably not going to be there in the high mountains.

True but he can't help himself plus those monster stages might turn into plan B routes.

 

[Red Rick]

True but he can't help himself plus those monster stages might turn into plan B routes.

At least he gets to make Froome's Finestre ascent look like a ride on training wheels if that happens.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Nibali can probably win the giro without attacking uphill or downhill. He can beat Fuglsang in the tts and he just has to stay with him in the mountains. The others are probably not going to be there in the high mountains.

Fuglsang has actually beaten him in multiple TT's the last couple of years (although Nibali hasn't really been good in any of those races). Nibali isn't as good a TT'er as he once was. Here he'll obviously get the better moto in front of him, so that may make the difference.

 

[Red Rick]

Fuglsang has actually beaten him in multiple TT's the last couple of years (although Nibali hasn't really been good in any of those races). Nibali isn't as good a TT'er as he once was. Here he'll obviously get the better moto in front of him, so that may make the difference.

I actually went through Fuglsangs ITT results and it was a lot worse than I remembered. Basically I put too much in to the old 2010 reputation of good climber/ITTer.

Nibali basically has never dropped a turd ITT in a GT he was in GC for.

 

[skippo12]

Fuglsang has actually beaten him in multiple TT's the last couple of years (although Nibali hasn't really been good in any of those races). Nibali isn't as good a TT'er as he once was. Here he'll obviously get the better moto in front of him, so that may make the difference.

Not really sure if Nibali declined in TTs. When he is going for the GC in a GT Nibali is usually among the best. Just looking at the last 3 years Nibali was 3rd in the long TT in the Vuelta 2017. 6th and 13th in the Giro 2017. Only beaten by specialists or guys like Froome, Thomas, Dumoulin, Kelderman. In the 2018 Tour he crashed out before the TT.
In the Giro 2019 he finished 3rd in the prologue. 4th in the long TT. 9th in the final TT. Overall gaining time on anybody not named Roglic.

Fuglsang had some really good results in smaller races but in GTs he has never shown his TT ability. I guess 2019 and 2020 Fuglsang isn´t comparable to his former self but I would still favor Nibali over him in a GT TT.