The arrival of Vincenzo Nibali to Trek-Segafredo means the team’s top captains will share leadership duties across the season’s major events.
Like many of the grand tour-style riders, Nibali sees the demanding Tokyo road course as a once-in-a-lifetime chance to try to win an Olympic gold medal. With the elite men’s road race just six days after the conclusion of the Tour de France in Paris, Nibali is opting to race the Giro in order to have more time to prepare specifically for the Olympics.
“I really believe there’s natural logic behind the decision to miss the Tour in 2020 and instead target the Giro and then Tokyo. Then there is the hilly world Championships in Switzerland to aim for. 2020 is a great season for riders like me,” Nibali said.
“There’s more time trialing in 2020 but I like the route a little more, it’s harder, there are climbs and key stages spread across the three weeks, plus that visit home to Sicily”.
“I’m not too bad and with the help of Trek I think I can only do better in the time trials this year. We’ve already worked on my position on the track and I’ll have a time trial bike at home to train on, incredibly that wasn’t always the case with Bahrain-Merida.”
“We’ve pushed my debut down the road a little to the Volta ao Algarve, so we’ve inserted an altitude camp in January,” Nibali explained. “It will be a key moment of training but also a key moment to build the group of riders that will help me at the Giro. Targeting a Grand Tour is more than just the three weeks of intense racing, there’s months of preparation and hard work.”
“I don’t know if I’ll win but I prepare well I think I can do something. The fact I’ve asked to start my season early and go to altitude is a sign of my motivation,” he said.
“I’m not bothered that people call me old. They’ve been saying it for three years…. If I’m past it, what about poor old Valverde, who is almost 40?”
