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Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

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He lost time in the descent because he didn't push it. Why take risks when 1) you are cooked, 2) there is nothing to gain?

As for the climb itself, yeah, he held Sunweb wheels longer than expected, went deep, then did his classic instant 1 km drop.

I just wish he could have stayed with the Fuglsang/Bilbao/other dude trio. No real reason, just to make it look less bad.

Still, while his GC days are 99% over, I don't completely write him off for next year. He has repeatedly stated he has struggled a lot to find good form this year, it is not a stretch to assume that beside age it was the f*cked-up schedule that messed with him.

Also I would be interested in a power analysis, just to check how far he was from 2019 performance.
 
He lost time in the descent because he didn't push it. Why take risks when 1) you are cooked, 2) there is nothing to gain?

As for the climb itself, yeah, he held Sunweb wheels longer than expected, went deep, then did his classic instant 1 km drop.

I just wish he could have stayed with the Fuglsang/Bilbao/other dude trio. No real reason, just to make it look less bad.

Still, while his GC days are 99% over, I don't completely write him off for next year. He has repeatedly stated he has struggled a lot to find good form this year, it is not a stretch to assume that beside age it was the f*cked-up schedule that messed with him.

Also I would be interested in a power analysis, just to check how far he was from 2019 performance.
Betting he did higher W/kg than Passo Manghen.
 
Being 30 years old I really fear 35-36. The fall
Off in form is horrendous and I have no form to start with haha
I'm 33 and haven't noticed any drop-off in form. Major declines for men are early to mid forties. If you're a weekend warrior you won't notice much drop-off before then; it's primarily an issue for elite athletes who cant afford to lose a couple of percentage points off their performance.
 
Nibali passing the bag to the next generation?!

IMG-20201022-WA0006.jpg
 
If he's literally saying he's too old for this *** then I don't have much hopes for 2021.
Nah, not quite literally. He said something like this: "there is a generational renewal, it is evident the others have their birthdates as an advantage. I believe I am the only one born in 1984 who is fighting with the best. The year has been hard and complicated for everybody."
 
I wanted Nibali to have one last crack at the TDF GC but days like this one make me realize it's definitely not happening. In the past 5 years, he attempted to win the Tour only once (in 2018) and sadly he had that terrible injury...
 
I wanted Nibali to have one last crack at the TDF GC but days like this one make me realize it's definitely not happening. In the past 5 years, he attempted to win the Tour only once (in 2018) and sadly he had that terrible injury...
He was looking very good in 2018 TdF. In general he was always in top shape for all GTs he targeted, that's why this season's performance looks so terrible.

Btw crazy how 2 years feel so long in sports. Back then we had Nibbles contending the Tour and winning MSR and Froome pulling one of the craziest GC performances to win the Giro. In 2020 Froome loses 30' in three stages and the Shark struggles to remain within the top 10 of the Corsa Rosa.