Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) was again one of the protagonists of the day in Giro d’Italia. The Italian made a move at the right time in stage 15 and got closer in the overall classification to his main rival Primoz Roglic.
“In the first week, it was very flat and so it was just important to avoid crashes or getting caught behind”, said Nibali. “In the second week, the climbs started and Roglic showed himself to be very solid, and so has [Richard] Carapaz, who is very explosive on the climbs and is going very well.
“Now we’re going into the third week. Alberto Contador is here today, and I said, ‘In some ways, you’re still a source of inspiration for me.’ When he rode, finishing third, fourth or fifth didn’t count for him. Only winning counted, and it’s the same for me. That’s the ‘nastiness’ that we show when we’re racing.”
“Carapaz showed he was very good, and he was able to follow me when I attacked. I continued with the attack and I saw that we were gaining something on Roglic,” Nibali said.
“The third week is the hardest, so we’ll see. The absence of the Gavia could change the race but I’m not underestimating anyone. I saw that Yates is recovering. He was in front today. Perhaps he will try to force something. He is five minutes down, which is a lot, but he has shown that his condition is coming,” Nibali continued.
“Roglic has the time trial on his side [17km in Verona, stage 21] but if he rides only against me, then we’ll bring a lot of other riders into the mix. Roglic and I have the same objective.”
