Former champion Vincenzo Nibali said he is ready to bite into his deficit to Giro d’Italia leader Steven Kruijswijk on his way to stopping the Dutchman making history in Turin on Sunday.
LottoNL-Jumbo team leader Kruijswijk is poised to become the first Dutch winner of the three-week Grand Tour after stretching his overall lead on prerace favorite Nibali to nearly three minutes.
Astana team leader Nibali, nicknamed Lo Squalo (The Shark), was in second place at only 41 seconds behind Kruijswijk after Saturday’s “Queen” stage in the Dolomites, but a mediocre performance in Sunday’s 15th stage uphill time trial, when he lost further time due to a mechanical problem, has left the Italian 2 minutes, 51 seconds behind his Dutch rival.
Photo: EPA
Nibali said there is now only one option if he is to wrest back the maglia rosa.
“I will attack as I have done before,” said the Sicilian, who nonetheless admitted he is hoping fate will play a hand. “Things can change every day on this race — [Tom] Dumoulin was really strong and now he’s gone home. So has [Mikel] Landa.”
Dutchman Dumoulin of Giant-Alpecin spent several days in the maglia rosa before pulling out on the 11th stage with saddle sores, while Spanish contender Landa of Team Sky retired due to sickness last week.
Nibali virtually admitted the maglia rosa could be heading to the Netherlands for the first time if Kruijswijk holds firm.
“If Kruijswijk doesn’t collapse, it’s a no-brainer. He will win the Giro,” the Italian said.
However, the 31-year-old, one of only six riders to have won all the Grand Tours of Italy, France and Spain, said he is not defeated yet.
Following the race’s final rest day on Monday, another hard day in the mountains awaited yesterday. Although stages 17 and 18 hold little opportunity for Nibali to claw back time, stages 19 and 20 will be decisive before the final, celebratory ride into Turin on Sunday.
Stage 19 is a 162km run from Pinerolo which takes the peloton over the tough Col d’Agnello — the highest peak in this year’s 99th edition — before a long descent into France and the subsequent climb to a summit finish in Risoul, where the Italian won a stage on the 2014 Tour de France.
The decider will likely be stage 20 on Saturday when the peloton tackles the Vars, Bonette and Lombarda climbs in an intense 132km penultimate stage.
With Spaniard Alejandro Valverde of Movistar in fourth place and 38 seconds behind Nibali, the Italian could find a willing ally to help him unseat Kruijswijk, but despite their “mutual respect,” Nibali admitted: “Let’s say it wouldn’t be easy.”
Instead, Nibali hopes to turn his hurt pride to his advantage.
“My pride’s been hurt, but I’m still confident,” he said. “I’ve always achieved my best successes after a defeat.”
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