Vincenzo Nibali has announced plans to ride the Tour de France in search of stage wins and the polka dot jersey.
The Bahrain-Merida leader has just finished second in the Giro d’Italia and is already looking ahead to his next targets.
Nibali looked back to his best in his home tour but was unable to close down an unshakeable Richard Carapaz (Movistar), who became the first ever Ecuadorian Grand Tour winner.
The Italian will now line up at the Tour next month, with a different set of goals.
>>> Why the Giro d’Italia 2019 failed to deliver the dramatic spectacle it promised
Speaking after the final stage of the Giro, He told Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport: “It will depend on my condition. I won’t necessarily go for the general classification. We’ll see.
“My idea would be to focus on stages and perhaps the polka dot jersey for the mountain classification.
“I spent a lot of energy in this Giro.”
Nibali has already won all three Grand Tours during his career, and at 34 he may be approaching the end of his three-week best.
But looking strong in the 2018 Tour, Nibali was taken out by a fan on the Alpe d’Huez stage and forced to abandon so we never discovered depth of his form.
His Giro was an entirely different story, as he was the main challenger for the entire race, first to Primož Roglič and then to Carapaz, who he eventually finished 1-05 behind in Verona.
>>> Simon Yates reflects on ‘heart-breaking’ Giro d’Italia 2019
The Giro-Tour double is becoming increasingly common amongst the top tier of GC riders with Nairo Quintana (Movistar) riding both in 2017, finishing second and 12th respectively.
The following year Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb) and Chris Froome (Team Ineos) both rode in Italy and France, with Dumoulin finishing second in both while Froome won the Giro and finished third in the Tour.
Dumoulin had intended to ride the double this year, but crashed out of the Giro in the first week and is now all-in for the Tour.
-
Matej Mohorič powers clear of breakaway to take Tour de France stage 19 winThe Slovenian champion took his second stage win of the race from the breakaway
-
Matej Mohorič says police raid on Bahrain Victorious hotel made him feel like a 'drug dealer'
The team have denied any wrongdoing after French police raided their hotel on Wednesday night
-
Bahrain Victorious raided by police at Tour de France 2021
The team said officers searched riders’ rooms and asked for training files
-
Vincenzo Nibali abandons Tour de France 2021
The Italian star is the latest to leave the race ahead of the Olympics
-
Matej Mohorič solos to epic victory on Tour de France 2021 stage seven as Van der Poel holds onto yellow
The GC riders came out to play in the peloton and the breakaway on the longest Tour stage in 21 years
-
Tour de France 2021: Sonny Colbrelli refuses to take blame for Primož Roglič crash
"I wish it didn't happen, but I don't believe I'm to blame," says Italian champion
-
'The last few hundred meters felt never ending': Nibali goes long to take hard fought Tour de France stage win
The Italian took victory on Val Thorens in the final mountain stage of the Tour de France 2019
-
Rumours of Mark Cavendish move to Bahrain-Merida resurface
Rumours that Mark Cavendish could make the move to Bahrain-Merida have resurfaced, after the Brit wasn’t selected for the Tour de France by his Dimension Data team.
