Specialized went to town on Vincenzo Nibali’s Tarmac SL4, giving his frame a one-off paint job. Nibali gets a shark motif a reference to his nickname(Image credit: Sam Dansie)
The start of the Giro d'Italia's 12th stage was delayed due to a bus blocking the road, so riders such as points leader Cadel Evans (BMC) and maglia rosa holder Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) sought shelter out of the rain.(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Riding into the first rest day at the Giro d'Italia with the maglia rosa safely packed into his Astana team suitcase does not mean Vincenzo Nibali believes he has the Italian grand tour wrapped-up.
With the race yet to hit the real mountains and still 12 stages to get through Nibali is remaining "tranquillo" while also suggesting that he is yet to really make any aggressive movements towards his rivals for the overall classification.
"In this first part of the Giro, I've stayed pretty covered and only gone on the attack once so far [on stage 7 to Pescara]. If there's a chance to gain seconds in the in the stages to come ahead then I'll go for it, but I'll also defend myself against my rivals," he said.
The Italian has looked to be the perfect wearer of the pink jersey and with his improvements in the time trial appears a better-rounded rider than the one that finished on the lowest rung of the podium ladder at last year's Tour de France.
Nibali has the home court and crowd advantage and as he did in last year's Tour, he is never one to wait for others to attack. If he senses a time to exploit a rival's weakness, like when Wiggins has been distanced on the tricky descents in this year's Giro, the Italian and his Astana squad will look to take it.
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