Congratulations to Vincenzo Nibali on his victory in the 2013 Giro d'Italia. His off season training was calculated for success in the Giro and it paid off tremendously. His performances in the mountains were expected as he is widely known as one of the premier climbers in the peloton today, but his fantastic turns in the 2 individual time trials were where his work really showed. He was in a class all his own and his performance in the near blizzard up Tre cime di Laverado on stage 20 will going down in Italian history...the tifosi I'm sure are hoping this is just the beginning of his dominance.
Vincenzo has now entered the rare space occupied by multiple grand tour winners (his win in the 2010 Vuelta a Espana being his other) with only victory in July's Tour de France currently eluding his grasp. He is well aware of that fact and I'm sure has designs on exactly how to go about attaining it in just over 6 weeks. The battle with Team Sky (who may be battling with itself) has a chance to be epic.
I've always liked Nibali as a fan, and was rooting for him to break the Sky trains recent dominance in grand tours and other stage races. Watching him get emotional on stage and hearing his remarks about he and other "young riders with strong ethics" in the peloton today gives me hope that his performance was clean and that there are more riders today like him than like Danilo DiLuca. Time will only tell, and for now I'll continue to believe that he is what he says he is and not paint him with too broad a brush, despite him riding for one of the shadiest teams in the peloton today.
Well done Vincenzo!
Update: Nibbles has decided not to contest the 2013 edition of Le Tour, so the chance for him to seal the deal on the Grand Tour triple crown will have to wait until 2014.
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