"Today's stage also served to test my condition a little," Nibali said, "which honestly is so-so..." With these words, spoken yesterday evening after the medical check-up, the Sicilian commented: his situation at Tour de France, who could probably leave right today. Nibali of France has shown signs of recovery alternating with less brilliant moments. It is clear that We are all hoping that the efforts of the last few days will trigger the most fantastic of supercompensations and, as happened in 2016 towards Rio, allow the Shark to arrive at the Olympics in sparkling condition.
To dispel any doubts, just reread the position of this magazine in favor of the Sicilian's call-up, expressed when elsewhere it was already being portrayed as improbable. Yet, compared to the days of Rio, when the mechanism of the perfect condition was studied in detail and put into action, Today there are differences that it would be short-sighted not to see.
Who trains Nibali?
At the Giro d'Italia Donne a few days ago, when asked how the Sicilian was doing, Paolo Slongo raised an eyebrow and said he knew nothing about it. In our opinion, the end of the relationship between Vincenzo and Paolo was neither elegant nor useful..
Who is in charge of Nibali's training? No one in the team knows. Not Josu Larrazabal, Trek-Segafredo's head coach, who we asked for clarification and was quick to say. don't be Vincenzo's coachIt's been rumored, but without any confirmation, that Nibali is likely being followed by the physiotherapist from Lugano who helped him recover from back surgery in record time in 2018: could this be true? We know that Valerio Agnoli also gave him a hand in the days in Fiuggi before the Tour: we saw it on social media. What happens is that Vincenzo does it himselfAnd this, having to manage a refined organism that requires ever-increasing attention as time passes, is not necessarily a great guarantee.
It seems to relive, making the necessary proportions, the experience of Aru who suddenly abandoned his trainers and entrusted himself to Tiralongo, confident that it would be enough to retrace the path already beatenDid it make sense to part ways with your longtime coach in what could be (but won't be) your last year?
Who is Nibali talking to?
Also during the days of the Giro d'Italia Donne, a press officer said he had met him and had the feeling that he needed to talk to someone. Perhaps it is a misinterpreted feeling, but the question we ask ourselves is who is there today alongside Nibali, providing him with disinterested advice that will be useful to him in this phase of his career and for the futureInterviews are becoming less frequent, and the tone of the topics is always asked beforehand: a legitimate request, typical when one doesn't want to be bothered or address the issues. These few lines cost us effort, and equally to dispel any doubts, they arise from the affection towards Vincenzo.
Promises and second thoughts
The best Nibali remains the one from Astana, last sighted in 2016. The reason he left that team, as far as the news is concerned, is due to the birth of Team Bahrain-Merida, certainly desired by the Prince of the land and strongly supported by his managers and the Croatian component.
It was then said that Nibali would end his career there, then he would become team manager, but we saw that this didn't happen. To go to that team, perhaps not created for him but certainly built on his shoulders, Nibali refused the first offer of the Trek-Segafredo. It is not certain that accepting it would have opened a new spring for him, but remembering the stories of those who followed him in the birth of the Bahrain team, he certainly would have had much more peace of mind to concentrate on his workWhich, until proven otherwise, is just cycling: not being a manager, much less a trainer. Is it fair to think that if his agents hadn't been involved in the team's management, they would have advised him to do things differently? Probably, but even in this case, there's no evidence to the contrary.
The same works
The fact is that the Nibali who finally arrived in Guercilena's team was recovering from back surgery and had not been providing performances at his level for a while (outside of the splendid Sanremo and a Lombardy), despite having gained considerable credit, to the point of having brought with him the doctor Magni, the trainer Slongo, the masseur Pallini and his brother AntonioIf he had wanted to change preparation method, they could have talked about it from the start and gotten closer to new technical lines with the graduality that such a change requires.
Thus dismissing Slongo, whose dedication is unquestionable, was probably not the height of foresight. Especially now that the Olympic year had already begun and the preparations undertaken so far have largely mirrored those of the past. With the work of a man born in the Giri, but one who, in the Giri, did not want to chase the overall rankings.
A new team
Meanwhile, new teams are being sought for Nibali, and a solution may have already been found. There is talk of Astana, but there is also talk of a financial request exceeding one million euros for a yearTrek-Segafredo appears to have declined the invitation, but curiously Doctor Magni and Slongo will remain in the American team, and Guercilena was happy to keep them with him.. Antonio is at the window, so the only one sure to follow Nibali is the usual masseur Michele Pallini. It had been heard that in Guercilena's team they had thought about a future as a manager for the champion, but it is clear that aiming for such an engagement, we chose to think about something more substantial.
At the start of the Italian championship, standing next to Fabio Aru, Vincenzo said some clear words about Astana: «We were a real squadron!»The Kazakh team has since changed face, with Martinelli the sole bastion of that way of cycling. But what was the point of leaving, which interrupted the karma of great victories? Let's hope that Tokyo will be a time of great relaunch. We are convinced that Nibali must be there, with our hand on our heart, we're here hoping for one last miracle. But still with our hand on our heart, we would have imagined a different ending.
