Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

[Rollthedice]

Yeah not being in Bahrain in 2021 does make me sad. Were there any rumors why he was leaving other than being left to assume a simple case of he demanded more than they wanted to give him?

In all honesty it feels like he's wasted too many seasons on the Tour, whether he did the Giro or not. In 2019 he got a stage win and that was it for the year.

Change of management, the infamous Milan Erzen taking over, the accident in 2018 and the long road to recovery and most likely other details. Speaking of too many Tour seasons, 2019 was somehow forced on him by Bahrain, maybe another reason for leaving.

But, that 2018 Tour, he had a very good shape, "stratospheric" by the words of Delfino, there is no doubt in my mind that he could've finished on the podium maybe even with a stage win (Alpe was there for the grabs when the crash happened).

That damned accident *ed up so many wonderful things that could have happened, Vuelta, the worlds, another Lombardia in the bag.

 

[pink_jersey]

Change of management, the infamous Milan Erzen taking over, the accident in 2018 and the long road to recovery and most likely other details. Speaking of too many Tour seasons, 2019 was somehow forced on him by Bahrain, maybe another reason for leaving.

But, that 2018 Tour, he had a very good shape, "stratospheric" by the words of Delfino, there is no doubt in my mind that he could've finished on the podium maybe even with a stage win (Alpe was there for the grabs when the crash happened).

That damned accident *ed up so many wonderful things that could have happened, Vuelta, the worlds, another Lombardia in the bag.

Also, there is no doubt in my mind that if he hadn't followed Quintana on Blockhaus and imploding in the process he would've won Il Giro in 2017. If in that stage he comes with Pinot/Dumoulin he wins it.

 

[Red Rick]

Also, there is no doubt in my mind that if he hadn't followed Quintana on Blockhaus and imploding in the process he would've won Il Giro in 2017. If in that stage he comes with Pinot/Dumoulin we wins it.

Between that and the ROFLcrack on Oropa it looks better yeah

 

[TourOfSardinia]

A question … where does the “bag” meme come from?

Could it be from the time of Wiggo's TdF?
That year Brad was so dominant that LeTour was In The Bag
(in the Jiffy Bag)

 

[tobydawq]

Not in the bag:

Nibali: "Io qui a fari spenti. Dove arriverò? Lo sanno le gambe"

Il vincitore nel 2015 e 2017: "Momento ok, ma non sono super e non è il “mio” percorso. Ci vorrebbe una giornata perfetta"

www.gazzetta.it

I honestly thought the quote was supposed to be a rap...

 

[Red Rick]

I honestly thought the quote was supposed to be a rap...

He's not at Astana yet.

 

[Rollthedice]

It was a bit quiet in here so...

This week should be the first meeting with "the Astana boys" in Tuscany who just announced that they signed Antonio and Conti. Some interesting bits from a recent interview with oasport:

You've won it all. Do you have any regrets?

"If I could go back I would avoid all the crashes, which are not a few" (laughs)

The Giro di Lombardia was your last race in the Trek-Segafredo jersey. What kind of team was it for you?

"It was a team that I struggled to integrate with for various reasons, including the language. It was an important transition though, because it was something I was missing. When I initially switched to Trek-Segafredo I felt very well, then after the lockdown some mechanism broke down. It was a difficult two years, both physically and mentally, where I couldn't find my ideal place."

Do you think a podium at the Giro could still be in your sights?

"I don't know what my plans are for next season yet. The podium at the Giro? Why not... but you have to keep your feet on the ground, the competition is very high. And then there's Paris-Roubaix which I've never raced, maybe next season could be the one."

Was there a time when you absolutely felt the strongest of all?

"There were days when I felt very strong, but in my head I had some doubts. An example? At Milan-Sanremo 2018: there I realized I was doing well on the Cipressa. After that, the road gives the answers. At the 2014 Tour de France, on the other hand, I felt unbeatable. There was never a day when I didn't feel good."

 

[Nirvana]

Going to the Giro for GC again is masochism at 38, why can't he just focus on classics in the spring, take a break, Tour for stages, Vuelta for training and classics again in the fall? He should stop following italian press unrealistic wishes.

 

[dusty red roads]

PR!!!! Bring it on!

 

[skippo12]

Going to the Giro for GC again is masochism at 38, why can't he just focus on classics in the spring, take a break, Tour for stages, Vuelta for training and classics again in the fall? He should stop following italian press unrealistic wishes.

He is playing the long game. Waiting for the opportunity to go full Horner on the younger GC riders and crush them when they stop thinking of him as a GC thread. To get there he needs to tank for at least two more seasons.

 

[lenric]

Going to the Giro for GC again is masochism at 38, why can't he just focus on classics in the spring, take a break, Tour for stages, Vuelta for training and classics again in the fall? He should stop following italian press unrealistic wishes.

because he has left the bag in some giro mountain...

... and...

 

[Nirvana]

I guess trying to comment something about him in a serious way is impossible nowadays...

 

[Red Rick]

I guess trying to comment something about him in a serious way is impossible nowadays...

Maybe finally time for an Antonio Nibali thread then.....

In reality, I'd hope he can be up there in a GC. Not necessarily for the win, but high up enough to impact the race and actually be in it to win stages if he decides to go into a breakaway. He's obviously looked bad in the Giro the lsat 2 years but the contrast with 2019 was too sharp to believe he can't do any better.

 

[Nirvana]

Maybe finally time for an Antonio Nibali thread then.....

In reality, I'd hope he can be up there in a GC. Not necessarily for the win, but high up enough to impact the race and actually be in it to win stages if he decides to go into a breakaway. He's obviously looked bad in the Giro the lsat 2 years but the contrast with 2019 was too sharp to believe he can't do any better.

But if the problem wasn't him being crap but others that are too strong there is not much he can do. I mean, last year he said that he was pushing his best watts, at the time it sounded an exaggeration but in the meantime other riders said the same and we've seen him riding up Prati di Tivo faster than prime Froome and prime himself just to finish 16th behind even Fabbro, Carr and Bouchard. At least if he rides a lot of one day races in some the situation could pan out in a way that enables him to get a good result, if he goes for the GC the best he can do is being like a random Dupont after wasting the spring in "preparation" mode.

 

[lenric]

think he would get satisfied with a top-5 + a stage win.

 

[Red Rick]

think he would get satisfied with a top-5 + a stage win.

Tbh the 2 Slovenians with Bernal likely aren't going so in all honesty it's probably in the bag

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Tbh the 2 Slovenians with Bernal likely aren't going so in all honesty it's probably in the bag

Even a podium is possible if the Shark is able to stay with Remco on descents.

 

[Bolder]

Here's my serious take: Prime Nibali was one of my favorites so it's painful to see him as a second rate rider. Would be great if he can snag a good result (stage win at minimum) in the Giro next year but I am not optimistic.

 

[Red Rick]

Here's my serious take: Prime Nibali was one of my favorites so it's painful to see him as a second rate rider. Would be great if he can snag a good result (stage win at minimum) in the Giro next year but I am not optimistic.

For me it's not whether they can still win GTs but whether they still show the heart and love for the sport. This Giro wasn't fun. But him attacking in Il Lombardia but then not making the top 10 is fine

 

[Netserk]

Going to the Giro for GC again is masochism at 38, why can't he just focus on classics in the spring, take a break, Tour for stages, Vuelta for training and classics again in the fall? He should stop following italian press unrealistic wishes.

I don't think Liège is easier for him to win than the Giro. If he doesn't improve, it doesn't really matter what he riders; if he does improve, he should be able to fight for the podium of the Giro and get a beautiful stage win. And his best hunting ground is the fall classics, which go very well with the Giro.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

I would say liege is impossible at this stage. Giro podium, Flanders, Roubaix, Worlds could be a possibility plus of course the end of season races. Sanremo and strade should be on the calendar.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Liege nowadays you have to be the most explosive in the world after a 260km brutal race. And the competition is so much more difficult than 10 years ago. I don't think you can win liege anymore through pure racecraft like he did with Sanremo.

 

[Nirvana]

I don't think Liège is easier for him to win than the Giro. If he doesn't improve, it doesn't really matter what he riders; if he does improve, he should be able to fight for the podium of the Giro and get a beautiful stage win. And his best hunting ground is the fall classics, which go very well with the Giro.

Liege is impossible but if he fully focus on the classics in a Kuurne, an E3, a Dwars a situation favorable could pan out, here you don't really need to be the strongest, not to mention a Roubaix like this year one.
I really can't see how he can win a stage while riding for the GC, even if he improves a lot, for this reason i said he should go to the Tour without riding the GC, in a route like this year where there aren't climbs at the beginning of the stages he could enter a break without strong climbers so even this fall version of him would be enough.
So everything fits like i said, big spring peak between march and april, rest, Tour stage hunting and Vuelta as training for the fall classics like he did with the Tour in 2016 after the Giro for the Olympics.

 

[Netserk]

Liege is impossible but if he fully focus on the classics in a Kuurne, an E3, a Dwars a situation favorable could pan out, here you don't really need to be the strongest, not to mention a Roubaix like this year one.
I really can't see how he can win a stage while riding for the GC, even if he improves a lot, for this reason i said he should go to the Tour without riding the GC, in a route like this year where there aren't climbs at the beginning of the stages he could enter a break without strong climbers so even this fall version of him would be enough.
So everything fits like i said, big spring peak between march and april, rest, Tour stage hunting and Vuelta as training for the fall classics like he did with the Tour in 2016 after the Giro for the Olympics.

Without the breakaway up the road, he could have won on Etna in 2020.

 

[Pinot's goat]

Without the breakaway up the road, he could have won on Etna in 2020.

Kelderman was clearly strongest of GC men.