Vincenzo Nibali cemented his reputation as one of the great grand tour riders when he claimed his second Giro d’Italia title in vintage fashion on Sunday.
The Italian, who won the 2013 Giro, was battered and bruised after a terrible performance in last Sunday’s uphill time trial and Tuesday’s mountain stage to Andalo, but when all seemed lost he hit back in style.
The Astana rider won solo in Risoul on Friday when overall leader Steven Kruiswijk crashed, and he put the hammer down on Saturday by dropping his closest rivals Alejandro Valverde and Esteban Chaves, who was wearing the pink jersey.
“It is a moment of sheer emotion. Describing what I felt when I entered the circuit and saw all the craziness is impossible,” said Nibali.
“It has been a tough, painful Giro. I started to ride more freely when I thought it was almost lost.”
Nibali started the Giro as the favourite in the absence of his main rivals Chris Froome, Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador who are all targeting the Tour this year.
He is now likely to ride the Tour to gear up for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics although Astana have designated his compatriot Fabio Aru as the team leader.
Lofty Company
Nibali is among six men to win all three grand tours with the 2013 and 2016 Giro, 2010 Vuelta and 2014 Tour de France crowns.
His team considered pulling him from the race earlier this week after his mediocre form saw him slip out of contention.
The first to win the Giro as the reigning Italian champion since Felice Gimondi in 1969, Nibali eventually beat Colombian Chaves (Orica-GreenEDGE) by 52 seconds and Spain’s Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) by 1:17.
Stage Win for Nikias Arndt
Nikias Arndt of Team Gian-Alpecin was awarded the stage win today after Giacomo Nizzolo was relegated by race officials for moving off his line during the sprint.
After some late breaks, the race was all back together in the final circuit with 7km to go as the teams prepared for the reduced bunch sprint. In the sprint, Nizzolo looked to have ended a series of second place finishes to finally take his first-ever Giro d’Italia stage on the final day while Arndt took second. After the stage, however, the jury decided that Nizzolo moved off his line in the sprint and was later disqualified, giving Arndt took his first victory of the season.
Arndt said today: “It was again a really hard day. Before the final laps, everything was straightforward but once the final circuit started every team was fighting for positions and it became quite nervous. There was still a break of two riders and the team did a really good job at the front of the peloton.
“In the finale, I had the whole time support from my teammates. The guys did an incredible job to put me in the ideal position and without their help I am not sure if I would have been able to sprint. It wasn’t my decision, the jury has got their reasons to take that decision as I just focused on my sprint. I will enjoy this victory with the team and we will make the most of it.”
Coach Marc Reef added: “The goal was to sprint with Nikias. It was a hard final lap and it was difficult to control. While heading to the final circuit, together with the other sprinters’ teams, we took over and controlled the bunch. We were able to keep Nikias in a good position. The team did some great pulls at the front and then we took over on the final lap and did a really great job as we kept the pace high in the bunch. It is a bit strange to win like this but every victory counts. It was a great display of teamwork, the team worked hard for a victory and we deserved it.”
Chaves shows Grand Tour promise
An incredible three weeks of racing and excitement came to a close at the Giro d’Italia today with Colombian Esteban Chaves finishing in second place overall.
The result gives ORICA-GreenEDGE, Australia’s first and only WorldTour team, its best result and first ever general classification podium at a Grand Tour.
26-year-old Chaves brilliantly won the mountainous Queen stage to put himself into contention and followed up by taking the race leader’s pink jersey on stage 19 before battling hard against race winner Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) on the penultimate day to seal the spectacular second place.
“I have learned that dreams can come true,” said the smiling Chaves. “If you keep working and never give up then your dreams can come true. That is what myself and ORICA-GreenEDGE are going to continue doing.”
“I would not be in this position without the magnificent work and support of my teammates and everyone involved with ORICA-GreenEDGE, I would like to thank all of them.
“These last few days have been the best of my life. This is just the beginning, that is what I told my teammates and this is what I believe.”
Giro Goals Accomplished for Movistar
The day’s racing also confirmed a fantastic overall third place Alejandro Valverde of the Movistar Team, making a more-than-successful debut in the race at 36 years old. The squad directed by José Luis Jaimerena and Chente García Acosta went through all states of mind in the Italian grand tour: a brief time in pink by Andrey Amador; the disappointment of seeing their chances almost ruined in Corvara; the fury on their performances in both the Alpe di Siusi TT and most notably Valverde’s win in Andalo; and the final rollercoaster in the Alps, fighting for a podium place that wasn’t confirmed until the final kilometers of Saturday’s stage twenty towards Sant’Anna di Vinadio. The best proof that Valverde never surrenders.
This third place in the Giro d’Italia makes Alejandro Valverde become the 16th rider ever – sixth, from those born in Spain – to have stepped onto the podium of all three Grand Tours, just one short (8) from Miguel Indurain’s ‘national record’ of nine. The Movistar Team, which climbs into second place in the 2016 UCI WorldTour standings, has already claimed nine consecutive Grand Tour finishes within the best four in the individual classification – ever since the 2013 Tour de France – six of them into the podium.
Jerseys / Team Win for Etixx-QuickStep
Podium / Team ETIXX – QUICK-STEP (BEL) Super Team/ Matteo TRENTIN (ITA)/ Pieter SERRY (BEL)/ David DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO (ESP)/ Lukasz WISNIOWSKI (POL)/ Bob JUNGELS (LUX) White Best Young Jersey / Gianluca BRAMBILLA (ITA)/ Celebration /
Cuneo – Torino (163km)/
Giro / © Tim De Waele
Three magical weeks for Etixx – Quick-Step came to an end on Sunday, in Torino, where Matteo Trentin capped off the team’s hugely impressive Giro d’Italia by taking second from a reduced sprint. Shortly after the 99th edition of the race was completed, our riders made several visits to the podium, where they were celebrated and rewarded for their fantastic achievements during the past three weeks: winner of the U25 standings, Bob Jungels received the white jersey, Matteo Trentin was awarded the prize for the most aggressive rider, while the entire squad climbed on the top spot for taking the victory in the Super Team classification.
Podium / Bob JUNGELS (LUX) White Best Young Jersey / Celebration /
Cuneo – Torino (163km)/
Giro / © Tim De Waele
Etixx – Quick-Step, which lined up for the Corsa Rosa a young team, continued to play a major role regardless of the terrain, every rider bringing his valuable contribution to the overall success. Another extra proof of the team’s fantastic spirit and unity came on stage 18, when Gianluca Brambilla was a key man in one of the best team tactical efforts seen in recent years at a Grand Tour, which ended up with Matteo Trentin’s intelligent and well-deserved victory in Pinerolo, his maiden win on home soil.
As the Giro d’Italia progressed and entered in its final phase, Jungels became stronger and stronger, displaying a scintillating form and a solid confidence, which took him to 6th place in the standings, a result which few would have predicted at the beginning of a competition that served also as a learning curve for him: “At this moment it’s hard to say what this jersey means for my career. What I do know is that I’ve been working really hard for this and that it will take a week or so until I’ll asses my performance. Right now, I’m speechless. For me, the most important thing in this Giro was the team, without the guys I wouldn’t stand here today. I am proud of my result, of the entire team and I will continue to work hard.”
Stage 21 Brief Results:
- Nikias Arndt (Germany / Giant) 3:48:18″
- Matteo Trentin (Italy / Etixx – Quick-Step) ST
- Sacha Modolo (Italy / Lampre)
- Alexander Porsev (Russia / Katusha)
- Sean De Bie (Belgium / Lotto)
- Ivan Savitsky (Russia / Gazprom)
- Rick Zabel (Germany / BMC Racing)
- Eduard Michael Grosu (Romania / Nippo)
- Jay McCarthy (Australia / Tinkoff)
- Alberto Bettiol (Italy / Cannondale)
Final General Classification:
- Vincenzo Nibali (Italy / Astana) 86:32:49″
- Esteban Chaves (Colombia / Orica) +52″
- Alejandro Valverde (Spain / Movistar) +1:17″
- Steven Kruijswijk (Netherlands / LottoNL) +1:50″
- Rafal Majka (Poland / Tinkoff) +4:37″
- Bob Jungels (Luxembourg / Etixx – Quick-Step) +8:31″
- Rigoberto Uran (Colombia / Cannondale) +11:47″
- Andrey Amador (Costa Rica / Movistar) +13:21″
- Darwin Atapuma (Colombia / BMC Racing) +14:09″
- Kanstantsin Siutsou (Belarus / Dimension Data) +16:20″
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