Image 1 of 23 Vincenzo Nibali solos to victory at Tre Cime di Lavaredo on the 2013 Giro d’Italia. (Image credit: Getty) A young Vincenzo Nibali took bronze in the under-23 time trial at the 2004 Worlds in Verona behind Janez Brajkovic and Thomas Dekker. (Image credit: Getty) Nibali turned professional with Giancarlo Ferretti’s Fassa Bortolo team in 2005. (Image credit: Getty) Nibali made his Grand Tour debut as part of Danilo Di Luca’s supporting cast on the 2007 Giro d’Italia. (Image credit: Getty) Nibali briefly wore the white jersey during his Tour de France debut in 2008, but he was overshadowed there, as at the Giro, by Riccardo Ricco’, at least until the Saunier Duval rider’s positive test for CERA. (Image credit: Getty) Nibali lost the pink jersey in the mud of Montalcino, but he would finish the 2010 Giro on the podium with teammate Ivan Basso. (Image credit: Getty) Nibal rides towards 2010 Vuelta a Espana victory at Bola del Mundo, his Grand Tour breakthrough. (Image credit: Getty) On the 2011 Giro, Nibali and Michele Scarponi were racing for a second place that would eventually lead to overall victory. (Image credit: Getty) Nibali put up firm resistance to Sky on the 2012 Tour de France, but he never looked like troubling their dominance. (Image credit: Getty) Nibali’s hopes of a Giro-Vuelta double in 2013 were thwarted by the surprising Chris Horner. (Image credit: Getty) What might have been. Despite a crash, Nibali took fourth at the 2013 World Championships in Florence on a circuit perfectly suited to his characteristics. (Image credit: Getty) Nibali laid the foundations for 2014 Tour victory with an aggressive showing on the cobbles in the opening week. (Image credit: Getty) Nibali with Alexandre Vinokourov on the Champs-Elysees in 2014. Per the Italian press, their relationship was not always straightforward, but Nibali returned to Vinokourov’s team to finish his career. (Image credit: Getty) Nibali struggled on the 2015 Tour before hitting his stride – and giving Chris Froome a scare – in the final days in the Alps. (Image credit: Getty) Nibali’s victory at Il Lombardia in 2015 came at a critical moment in his career, on the back of explusion from the Vuelta for an illegal tow and just as Fabio Aru threatened to usurp him at Astana. (Image credit: Getty) Turning point. Nibali’s attack over the Colle dell’Agnello would trigger a most remarkable turnaround on the 2016 Giro d’Italia. (Image credit: Getty) Rio 2016. For a few minutes, Nibali looked on… Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed… Share