With Primoz Roglic at the top, Bora-Hansgrohe wants to attack in the overall standings at the 2024 Tour de France. Former Tour winner Vincenzo Nibali does not see the Slovenian at the top next year on the podium in Nice. "I don't think he's going to win. Maybe I'm wrong. There are riders like Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar at the moment, but he might not ride the Tour. I think they are a bit better," said Nibali during a press conference organised by the Italian clothing manufacturer Q36.5, for whom the Sicilian is a brand ambassador.
Nibali and Roglic once fought a duel at the Giro d'Italia
"Roglic has grown up and grown with Jumbo. Now we have to see how he fits in at Bora. A change of team can change a lot. He has to find his feet there first," said Nibali, who also emphasised his good relationship with the Slovenian. "Roglic can give a lot to cycling. I know him very well. He is a very good guy. We fought a tough sporting duel at the Giro d'Italia. We have a good relationship, we are good friends."
The two fought a fierce duel, especially at the 2019 Giro d'Italia, with Richard Carapaz coming out on top and taking home the pink jersey. Nibali and Roglic finished second and third.
Drivers and teams approached every race as if it were the last of the season - Vincenzo Nibali
Nibali himself ended his career in 2022. "Tubeless and tyre width as well as aerodynamics and the cables routed in the frame" were the biggest technical innovations on the road bike during his professional career. In the last three seasons of his career, he noticed a change in cycling: "After the Covid break, the mentality has changed. The riders and teams approached every race as if it was the last one of the season. They didn't know how many races could be held and how the pandemic would affect our sport. That then continued."
Vincenzo Nibali's greatest successes
- 2x Giro d'Italia overall standings
- 1x Tour de France overall standings
- 1x Vuelta a Espana overall classification
- 2x Tour of Lombardy (2015, 2017)
- 1x Milan-San Remo 2018
- 2x Tirreno-Adriatico overall classification (2012, 2013)
- 7 stage wins at the Giro d'Italia
- 6 stage wins at the Tour de France
- 1 stage win at the Vuelta a Espana
- 2x overall classification Giro del Trentino (2008, 2013)
- 1x overall classification Tour of Oman (2016)
- 1x Grand Prix Ouest France - Plouay (2006)
- 11x podium at a Grand Tour
Nibali names his three biggest rivals
Nibali is one of only seven riders in the history of cycling to have won all three major national tours (Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana) at least once. During his career, the "Shark of Messina" often fought fierce battles with his opponents - he emphasises three of them. "Alberto Contador and Chris Froome. In the classics, it was Alejandro Valverde."
It's a fantastic race. I've only raced there once, but I love it. - Vincenzo Nibali
In the classics, Nibali won two of the five monuments - the Tour of Lombardy (2015 and 2017) and Milan-San Remo (2018). He finished second in Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2012 and Nibali also tried his hand at the Tour of Flanders in 2018, finishing 24th in the end. The 38-year-old still raves about the Ronde today. "It's a fantastic race. I've only raced there once, but I love it."
Why Nibali never started at Paris-Roubaix
However, the Sicilian never took part in Paris-Roubaix. The fact that he can also shine on cobblestones was demonstrated on stage 5 of the 2014 Tour de France, where Nibali literally laid the foundation for his victory in the Tour of France.
According to him, however, taking part in Paris-Roubaix would have been too risky. "This race is very early in the season. But my teams' focus was always on the Giro or the Tour, so it didn't fit into my race plan. A crash there would have had too much of an impact on the rest of the season."
