On Thursday evening a week ago the rumour began to spread that Vincenzo Nibali was on Elba. Two days later the race would have taken place Capoliveri Legend Cup, one of the most beautiful, tough and technical MTB marathons in the world.
It was predictable to find the Shark, who had said goodbye to road racing at the Tour of Lombardy, in a mountain bike race. He had said it a little and his passion for "fat tires" was well known, but we didn't imagine it would happen so soon.
We were so curious to know more about this adventure. We interviewed him and Nibali responded with real enthusiasm to our (many) questions.
Vincenzo, how did it go? How did the idea of participating in the Capoliveri Legend Cup come about?
I've been thinking about doing something like this for years and finally the opportunity arose. The idea of Capoliveri was born one evening, a few months ago, when I found myself in the room with Simone Velasco (For the record, Simone is from Elba and a former biker, ed.) While we were talking, he told me he'd like to do it.
You have a certain feeling with the mountain bike…
I go there in the winter, but it happens only a few times during the season. In Ticino I often go out with Philip Columbus (Swiss professional biker, ed.) and Yuri Zanotti: downhill is amazing. They do cross country and I wasn't sure what level I'd find in marathons. I wanted to do it with Velasco, but then he was called up for the Veneto Classic.
And you went to Capoliveri instead…
I arrived on Friday with my family, by the way I have to say that Maurice Melis and his staff welcomed me very much. But I wasn't super prepared, think about it, I ran with new shoes! I had tried them just once two days before.
The Legend Cup is one of the most technical…
As I said, in Ticino I'm a bit used to certain routes. There are some single tracks there where he also rode. nino schurter and more or less I knew what I was getting into. Then on the eve I met Failli e Chiarini, two former teammates and friends, who have been racing mountain bikes for years and also gave me some tips.
And how did it go?
The day before I tested the route a bit and honestly, with all those forks in the road, those changes of direction, those steep sections… I was a bit disoriented. It felt like the first time doing the Amstel Gold Race!
Can you tell us about your race?
I started off strong, because I didn't want to miss out on the best riders and maybe move ahead a bit to take the lead on the first descents. I was curious to see the level of the best. Plus, I didn't want to get dusty... partly because I'm inexperienced and partly because I wanted to see well. I placed myself in third or fourth place. And in any case, there were many champions of this specialty: from Rabensteiner (current tricolour, ed.) PaezAs long as there weren't any technical sections, I was fine, but then, obviously, I struggled a bit in some areas. But not so much because of the riding, but because of the lack of experience, and also because they were stronger in their upper bodies than me. What was the problem? I struggled on the uphills, but I struggled just as much on the downhills!
A “good” piece of news!
For 90 minutes, I averaged 170 beats! And in fact, for the last 20 kilometers, I was in a tailspin. I had a couple of gels in my pocket, which I took. I took advantage of some assistance from the Taddei Cycles, among other things I reviewed “Nando” Casagrande And I was pleased. The fact is, you're used to racing 200-250 kilometers and you think, 'What do you mean, 80 kilometers?' Instead, it was four hours of flat-out racing. I was a bit taken aback, by the way. I hadn't had a big breakfastI had taken some biscuits with jam, Instead we needed a nice plate of pasta. I took it with the right amount of determination, but with just as much lightness.
How did you “prepare” it, Vincenzo?
Between the Lombardia and the Capoliveri Legend I went out just a couple of times for a couple of hours, mostly to set up the bike (a Wilier Urta Slr, ed). An one time I even had the fork pump in my pocket.
We knew you were an excellent road mechanic and technician, even on mountain bikes.
Yup, Yes, I did all the setup myself. I also replaced a fork bearing. I then mounted the "sausages": a larger one at the back and a smaller one at the front, because it was important that the front tire worked well, as I had to ride. I wanted a certain feeling, otherwise it would have been too stiff. Furthermore, to set the potentiometer on the MTB, I did some tests and removed 10% of its power to get a reliable reading. I calibrated it with the pedals. Garmin.
Who gave you any technical tips?
As I said, I did a lot on my own, but I talked to Colombo about the tires. In the end, I used some Pirelli Scorpion Xc. While I chose the wheels: the Syncros Silverton Sl, I bought them myself. They didn't pass them on to me as some people imagined. Leonardi instead he provided me with his garniture racing, This way I also tried the 172,5mm cranks.
Wow, you're on the right track...
In the end I was born on a mountain bike with 26" wheels and I was surprised by the 29" ones. but mountain biking has always been part of my winters. During lockdown, I rode a lot, basically just on it. Then, when the season started again, I obviously got on a road bike.
Apart from breakfast, what would you change?
I realized that the external support of a team is essential. At the bottom of the Punta Pareti descent, for example, Paez punctured and lost a lot of time. Samparisi He broke the rear disc. I talked about it with the others after arriving, and everyone was talking about their own problems. Nothing happened to me and I was good at being careful and driving cleanly. I had given an extra set of wheels to those following me for assistance, but we also needed to be better organized when it came to refueling. At the last refreshment point,” he laughs, “I stopped to get something.
Why are you laughing, Vincenzo?
They asked me, "Why are you leaving with two water bottles?" And why… "Because I have no assistance, I'm alone."
Will you change anything in the future? For example, will you work out more for your upper body?
If with Ivan Santaromita we will go to the Cape Epic, as it seems, will certainly come in handy. In Capoliveri, I had a crisis at the end for this reason too. You had to be constantly alert: roots, potholes, jumps… you could tip over in a moment. To avoid doing that, I slowed down a lot. I arrived exhausted. On the road you take a breather every now and then, on a mountain bike you have to stay focused at all times. Four full hours at full tilt.
We always wonder who's stronger: bikers or road riders? What have you noticed? How are they doing?
Well, The watts are there, they definitely have them. As I mentioned, I did 90 minutes at over 170 beats, then I broke down the data and did 330 average watts of normalized power and 280 real. I'd say it's a good way to go. So much so that MazzoleniAfter reading the race file, he said to me, "Wow, those numbers, Vince!" I averaged 21 km/h, gained 3.000 meters of elevation, and burned over 4.000 calories. It was a great adventure!
Just to know, Vincenzo Nibali finished the Capoliveri Legend Cup in ninth place About a dozen minutes behind Fabian Rabensteiner. He even led the way in one of the initial sections, making the Elbans, the 1.500 bikers present, and all his fans dream.
