Vincenzo Nibali announced that he will ride in both the 2019 Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, according to Italian media reports.
The 34-year-old has never won two Grand Tours in a single season, and said that his home race would be his main target next year.
“I’ll try to reach the Giro in top condition. From then, we’ll see what energy I have left for the Tour. But I want to do well there too, and we’ll go there with a very strong team,” Nibali said.
Nibali, a winner of two Giro d’Italia titles and the 2014 Tour, has competed in both races twice before, including when he claimed his second maglia rosa in 2016.
“The Giro uses up a lot of strength. I have tried to do two Grand Tours in recent years and it’s difficult, especially when you do the Giro and Tour together,” said Nibali.
“I’ve had the experience of riding the Giro and Tour, and it’s the most difficult combination. I’ve found it a lot more straightforward to ride the Giro and Vuelta or the Tour and the Vuelta. We’ll try to learn from past experience to get there as best we can, but a lot will depend on how much energy we expend at the Giro.”
The 102nd edition of the Giro gets underway in Bologna on May 11, with Geraint Thomas’ defence of the Tour de France yellow jersey to begin on July 6 in Brussels.
