'Chris Froome will be competitive but I feel confident': Nibali targets Tour of the Alps as he prepares for the Giro
The Italian is looking to build his form as he targets his third Giro title

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) is set to use the Tour of the Alps as a launch pad as he targets success in both Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the Giro d'Italia, the latter being his main focus for 2019.
The Italian has just finished an altitude training camp at the Teide volcano in Tenerife, and whilst the work has been intense he still needs to find race rhythm. He will head to the Tour of the Alps next week before flying to Belgium for Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with Nibali saying these two races provide the perfect set up for his tilt at a third Giro title two weeks later.
"I really like the Tour of the Alps formula, made of short and demanding stages," Nibali said, "and that's the way Grand Tours also seem to be going. Tour of the Alps stages are usually contested at the beginning, providing a great spectacle for the audience and a challenge for the riders."
His main competition in the Alps will be the man who won the maglia rosa last year, Chris Froome. Between them, the two riders have 10 Grand Tour victories. However, it will be the four-time Tour de France champion's team mate, Egan Bernal, who will lead Team Ineos at the Giro, with Froome and Nibali instead battling it out across five alpine stages next week.
"I think Chris Froome will be competitive. The Tour de France is still quite a long way, but we are talking about a champion. This will be my first race since Milan-San Remo and the altitude training: I am looking forward to test my feelings before the Giro."
As well as having two Giro wins to his name, Nibali has two Tour of the Alps wins, albeit when the race was called Giro del Trentino, before the rebrand in 2017, and the race is special to the Italian. "I feel related to this race, I won my first Giro del Trentino in 2008, repeating the success in 2013, the season of my first Giro d'Italia success. I still remember the emotions of the win in Folgaria, which I won ahead of Franco Pellizotti, who will be in my team car as sports director this time around."
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Hi. I'm Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor. I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.
Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).
I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.
-
-
Cycling keeps you fit but are you doing enough to stay healthy?
It’s possible to be very fit in one specific way, for example being fast on a bike, while being unhealthy in other ways
By Joe Laverick Published
-
Dr Hutch: Motor-doping isn't rife, there's no way cyclists would use it discreetly enough
Some fans think that motor-doping is rife, but Cycling Weekly's columnist Dr Hutch is having none of it
By Michael Hutchinson Published
-
Giro d’Italia 2023 route: Every stage detailed for the 106th edition of the Corsa Rosa
Taking an in depth look at all 21 stages of the 2023 edition of the Italian grand tour
By Tom Thewlis Last updated
-
Changing of the guard: Seven top cyclists who have retired in 2022
Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde and Tom Dumoulin have all called time on their careers this year
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘I was rubbing shoulders with Nibali and Valverde’ - Oliver Knight gets starstruck at Vuelta a Burgos
UAE Team Emirates rider makes big step up in key race before the Vuelta a España
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Vincenzo Nibali rolls back the years with shark attack on stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia
37-year-old up to fifth on general classification with five stages left
By Adam Becket Published
-
The general classification just got even tighter: Five talking points from stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia 2022
There was climbing, climbing, and more climbing on Tuesday
By Adam Becket Published
-
Vincenzo Nibali compared to Zlatan Ibrahimović by impressed Astana-Qazaqstan DS: 'He has some surprises in store'
The Italian last won a race in October, his first in more than two years
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Vincenzo Nibali: 'My final year? I haven't made a decision yet'
The Italian returns to Astana for 2022, but hasn't yet figured out whether it will be his swansong
By Jonny Long Published
-
Vincenzo Nibali abandons Tour de France 2021
The Italian star is the latest to leave the race ahead of the Olympics
By Alex Ballinger Published