Vincenzo Nibali still not sure whether to ride the Giro, the Tour or both
Although he has not yet taken a decision about which race to participate in, Vincenzo Nibali is already lined up to ride the Tour de France 2012 by his Team Manager, Roberto Amadio.
The cyclist, however, has also shown interest to ride the Italian Grand Tour as he believes that the Giro’s track for this year suits him more than the previous editions of the race.
He has as many as eight Grand Tour appearances under his belt, with four Giros, two Tours and two Vuelta a Espana participations.
Nibali finished third during the previous two editions of the Giro d’ Italia and believes that he can improve his performance at the 2012 version of the race.
Team Liquigas-Cannondale is content to ride the Giro with Ivan Basso. However, it is expected that the decision about Nibali’s inclusion in the Giro will be finalised after the Ardennes Classics.
The cyclist understands that it is hard to ride two Grand Tours. He told Biciciclismo,
“If you ride the Giro, doing the Tour well isn’t possible”.
He also explained, “I really like the Giro, it’s a race that has given me a lot and has a better route for me this year. I would like to ride it. Ivan will do the Giro and the Vuelta, I don’t think he will go to the Tour. But in any case, the season is long
and the programme can change”.
The 27-year-old briefed that he is more suited to the French Grand Tour considering the track and time trialling involved in the two events.
The Italian will definitely receive a huge support from the crowd during the Giro d’ Italian 2012 and the decision to choose between the two is definitely a hard one.
Nibali has not ridden the Tour de France since 2009, where he finished 7th. Alberto Contador won the race with Andy Schleck, Lance Armstrong, Bradley Wiggins, Frank Schleck and Andreas Kloden claiming the top six spots.
Nibali has already started his season and is riding the Tour de San Luis in Argentina. He is currently working hard on his time trial abilities to improve his overall lead at the UCI 2.1 rated event.
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