Nibali turns focus to Tour de France after Giro d'Italia podium
It felt like a microcosm for Vincenzo Nibali's entire Giro d'Italia. Half an hour earlier, he had stood in the centre of the Arena di Verona and watched as Richard Carapaz was presented with the Trofeo Senza Fine as the final overall winner. Now, in the chaotic mixed zone in the bowels of the ancient Roman amphitheatre, Nibali was being asked to revisit his spat with Primoz Roglic from a week previously. Once again, the focus was on the wrong rival.
"It was a pointless polemic," Nibali said, before explaining once more his stern critique of Roglic's tactics at Ceresole Reale on stage 13 and rehashing the controversy that built up over the Slovenian's attempted fist bump at the finish. "It was a polemic built up by you guys. What I said afterwards was mainly a case of being angry after a stage that had gone badly."
Nibali's 9th place in Sunday's final time trial in Verona was enough to secure second place overall, 1:05 behind off Carapaz, while Roglic finished the Giro in third, a further 1:25 back. Carapaz may have been stronger in the final week of the race, but, deep down, Nibali will surely harbour regrets at how he allowed the Ecuadorian to manoeuvre himself into the overall lead in the first place.
When Nibali and Roglic fiddled on the upper reaches of the Colle del Nivolet on stage 13, their Giro challenges were burned. Their marking of one another there allowed Carapaz to snatch a crucial 1:19 from the two favourites. The Ecuadorian repeated the dose the next day, riding into pink at Courmayeur at least in part because Roglic preferred not to bear the responsibility of leading the race.
"I don't have regrets even though many people are saying I should because we made a mistake in letting Richard get away," Nibali said. "In the Courmayeur stage, in particular, he was very good. He went hard in a counter-attack and gained time. At first, we chased but in the finale, everyone's legs were what they were and he found the space to take a gap that he consolidated to the end. I have no regrets because I tried to do a great race by interpreting it as best I could."
Podium
Three weeks ago, Nibali set out from Bologna aiming to surpass Fiorenzo Magni as the oldest Giro winner in history. The 34-year-old fell short of that landmark, but he did succeed in adding a further line to his remarkable Grand Tour record. In his 21st Grand Tour appearance, this was his 11th podium finish, a feat bettered only by Jacques Anquetil with 13 and Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Felice Gimondi with 12.
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