Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) was crowned the 2013 Giro d'Italia winner(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Vincenzo Nibali looks set to compete at the Tour de France in 2014(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Vincenzo Nibali was one of the stars of the 2014 Giro d'Italia route presentation after dominating this year's race and winning the pink jersey. However, the Sicilian is unlikely to target a second consecutive victory in 2014. Astana team manager Alexandre Vinokourov has already announced that Nibali will focus on the Tour de France next season and he seemed against the idea of going for a risky Giro-Tour double.
"I can't say if I'll ride or not at the moment because we haven't decided my race programme for next season,” Nibali told the media after the official presentation with a fine display of cycling diplomacy equal to his racing skills on the bike.
"Things will be decided during the first team get together, so that I know the early season races I'll riding. After that we'll decide things for the Grand Tours."
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Nibali ruled out the possibility of riding the Giro as preparation for the Tour de France.
"As an Italian it'd be difficult to consider riding like that. It's not right. If I decide to ride the Giro, I'd go for the general classification," he said.
"I've often done two Grand Tours in the same season and I did the Giro and Vuelta this year. This year I started the season strong, missed the Tour and then was strong in the Vuelta and end of the season. But that's easier to do because there's more time to recover. Riding the Giro and then the Tour will the goal of winning both is difficult."
Nibali liked the balanced route and the stages which could allow for surprise attacks and changes in race leadership. He is no doubt tempted by a possible second consecutive victory but also knows he is at the peak of his career and has a real chance to win the 2014 Tour de France.
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"It's a good route and it’s open to different and sudden changes in the race leadership," he said after watching the presentation of the stages.
"There are some possible traps in the first week, while the final week is most difficult part, where the 47km time trial will be vital. The Monte Grappa mountain time trial will be tough too. It's not an easy route."
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
