Giro d'Italia - Vincenzo Nibali: It is important to be here after a difficult moment
May 07 2021 12:43 am CET
Photo of Vincenzo Nibali (c)Fabio Toschi
Vincenzo Nibali is ready to start the Giro d'Italia -where he will share the lead of Trek-Segafredo with Bauke Mollema and Giulo Ciccone- although he's still unsure about his own form after recovering from a wrist injury.
By Maritza Cárdenas
In the mid April, the Shark crashed during training and suffered a fracture in his wrist. Although his participation in the Corsa Rosa was in doubt due to this injury, this week it was announced that he is going to be at the start line in Torino, but he doesn't know much about his shape at the moment,
"Honestly, I don't know exactly where I am in terms of my condition," said Nibali in a pre-race press conference. "For me it is important to be here after a difficult moment. I'm very happy to be here. The last few weeks have been very difficult, I stayed without riding for ten days, then there was rehabilitation and only last week I was able to train consistently again. I don’t want – and I can’t – make any proclamations, except that I want to leave a mark. Even in my head I don’t really know what to expect from this Giro."
The Italian is ready to face the course of the race to protect his wrist, although he doesn't feel pain anymore. "We have tried some solution like to have a softer handlebar tape and to inflate a bit less the wheels," he explained. "I also used a hard protection for the wrist at the beginning but now I'm just using some bandages around it."
"Riding out of the saddle doesn't give me a problem. I don't have any problem with the vibration of the handlebars maybe there could be a problem if I hit a pothole or if the road is very irregular, but the roads of the Giro are usually good. So I just hope I will just improve day by day."
Next to Nibali and Ciccone, Mollema will also captain the team in the Giro d'Italia but his main focus will be on taking stage wins. "I think any stage to win is fine for me," said the Dutchman. "I didn’t look at the parcours in deep yet, but in general, I know more or less what we will get. The last week will be super hard; we have Stage 11 with Strade Bianche also. Tomorrow we have an easy day, also Saturday and the first flat days. These will be good days to study the roadbook; then, I will make a plan for which stages to target.
"When you’re not riding for GC the preparation is different, training-wise, but also the focus is a bit different. I’m more relaxed than if I would be targeting the GC. In training I’ve focused less on the longer efforts, the longer climbs, this year because I knew already that I wouldn’t go for GC in this Giro. It’s quite different but I think it’s a nice chance to win a stage this year and I’m really happy to be here at the Giro."
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