Tour de France leader Vincenzo Nibali played down suggestions he had finally cracked ahead of yesterday’s fearsome 17th stage in the Pyrenees.
The day before, Astana’s Nibali was slightly distanced by young French climber Thibaut Pinot of team FDJ.fr as the leaders crested the Port de Bales before a 20km descent to the finish.
Pinot himself said Nibali let him go because he knew he would catch him on the descent, the Italian being known as the best descender in the peloton, while the Frenchman openly admits it is his weakness.
Italian Nibali said he was more concerned with Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde, who is second in the overall standings at 4 minutes, 37 seconds.
“On the climb, Movistar pushed it on and the man to control was Valverde because he can also do damage on the descent,” the 29-year-old said. “Pinot sprinted clear at the top , but I was getting some sugars on board — it was nothing, I was in control.”
Nibali also suggested he had been caught out in the wrong position when Pinot, who moved up to third overall at 5:06 with his strong showing, kicked at the top of the hill. The Italian also insisted he had not overlooked the potential danger Pinot can pose.
“I certainly am not underestimating anyone, I learned that last year at the Vuelta,” Nibali said, referring to the Vuelta a Espana, where he lost to outsider Chris Horner. “I was the one to close Pinot down in the last kilometer when he attacked and Valverde had left a gap.
“I tried to keep everything under control and I was also thinking about the race in next few days. Many people used a lot of energy and that showed in their legs,” he added.
Yesterday’s 17th stage is just 124.5km, compared with the 237.5km trek on Tuesday, and includes three first-category climbs before the hors category finish to Saint-Lary-Soulan.
Nibali says that will make it much tougher than Tuesday’s stage.
Pinot may have gained time on the likes of Romain Bardet and Tejay van Garderen on Tuesday, but he said he was expecting a reaction yesterday.
“It will be a very short and nervous stage and I expect my rivals to attack me,” he said.
AG2R have the next two in the standings behind Pinot, Frenchmen Jean-Christophe Peraud, fourth at 1:02 behind Pinot, and Bardet, who is fifth another 32 seconds further back.
Yet it is Peraud and Van Garderen, who dropped to more than 4 minutes behind Pinot after a dreadful day in the first Pyrenean stage, who most worry Pinot because of their time trial capabilities.
“I need to gain more time. I put time into Romain and Van Garderen, but I need to get more time on Peraud,” Pinot said.
Bardet was the big surprise on Tuesday after looking strong in the Alps. He cracked on the final climb, but said he is hoping to bounce back quickly.
“I lost a battle, but there are still two great [Pyrenean] stages to come,” he said.
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