I’ve always thought that the hardest thing is not winning, it’s doing it again,’ says Vincenzo Nibali. As he talks about the void left in Italian stage racing by his retirement, he inadvertently strikes upon a key part of what made him so special: ‘It’s hard because everyone knows you’re strong so you get marked. You think the same preparation might be right again, but it never is, so you have to come up with something new.
‘It’s like in Formula 1 – the engine is different every year and preparation changes too. If you do training that works one year and repeat it, it won’t go as well because your body remembers it. You have to change it to get the best out of it.’ Nibali was a master of this art of re-invention, getting more out of himself year in, year out. The result was four Grand Tour wins and three Monuments, with a podium finish in at least one of them every year from 2009 to 2019. He was a Boy’s Own cyclist with a knack for the spectacular, whether carving down descents with laser precision, racing from the front on the muddy cobbles of northern France or shining bright through the snow in the Dolomites.
There is no more repetition needed now. We meet three months into his retirement – if you can call it that, because Nibali has hardly stopped. A week after bowing out at Il Lombardia in October 2022, he jumped on a mountain bike and raced for fun – he has loved off-road since childhood, but it was practically forbidden during his career. He has done a photo shoot on Mount Etna for Italian clothing brand Q36.5 and has been advising its new pro team as a consultant. Then there have been trips to South Africa, Singapore and Japan to ride or race criteriums. As we chat in a Spanish training camp hotel, he reflects that he hasn’t had a holiday.
Bu hikaye Cyclist UK dergisinin May 2023 - 138 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye Cyclist UK dergisinin May 2023 - 138 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
The Mur de Montrose
Anondescript city centre shortcut to the shops is destined to become a classic climb when the superstars of the peloton ride it next month
Ventum NS1
Aracy road bike with more character than its looks suggest
Colnago C68 Road
The flagship has been refitted, but it's still very Colnago
Susten Pass
The supersized Swiss climb
What we ride
Behind every cycling journalist is a long history of bikes. Some come and go-test bikes, first bikes, stolen bikes, I'm going to get into BMX-ing now bikes - but some stay, for their practicality, their dreaminess or just for the joy they elicit. Here are three of the Cyclist team's personal favourites
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE
Over the past 12 years, Italian racer Elisa Longo Borghini has established herself as one of cycling's great all-rounders. She tells Cyclist about her sporting upbringing, how she conquered her self-doubts, and how she hates coming second
New view on Ventoux
It's possibly the most famous climb in cycling, but Mont Ventoux still has some surprises in store, including this route that takes in the stunning and rarely visited Les Gorges de la Nesque
All in the mind
The mental aspect of cycling can be just as important as the physical. Cyclist talks to two experts about training the brain for when the going gets tough
A moment in time Nicole Cooke tames Ventoux
In 2006, Britain's Nicole Cooke demonstrated her absolute dominance in a bravura performance on the Giant of Provence
Veni, vidi, Vinge?
Felix Lowe makes his predictions for the Tour de France
