Nibali: I wasn't 100 per cent, but it's January

Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), a winner of all three Grand Tours, is the star attraction at the Vuelta a San Juan, and although he vowed to try and win the race – especially when pressed by local media – it was always with the caveat that it’s only January and that laying the foundations for the Giro d’Italia was his principal aim.

And so it proved on the race’s decisive general classification stage, which finished at almost 2600 metres atop the Alto de Colorado, as the Italian ceded just over a minute to the top few riders.

Bauke Mollema, another of the favourites for the Giro in May, finished fifth on the day to take hold of the leader’s jersey, but Nibali wasn’t in the least bit concerned by his own progress.

 

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Patrick Fletcher

Patrick is an NCTJ-trained journalist, and former deputy editor of Cyclingnews, who has seven years’ experience covering professional cycling. He has a modern languages degree from Durham University and has been able to put it to some use in what is a multi-lingual sport, with a particular focus on French and Spanish-speaking riders. Away from cycling, Patrick spends most of his time playing or watching other forms of sport - football, tennis, trail running, darts, to name a few, but he draws the line at rugby.