Nibali, fourth and happy: “I wanted to finish like this”

The Shark repels the onslaught of rivals and in the end appears happy: “Thanks to the Giro and thanks to my fans”

MALGA CIAPELA. How much more beautiful what happened now more than two weeks ago in Messina seems even more beautiful. The classification of the Giro d’Italia, before the time trial in Verona reads: 4) Vincenzo Nibali (Asdtana) a 7’57”, 5) Pello Bilbao (Bahrain) at 8’55 ”, 6) Jan Hirt (Intermarchè) at 9’07 “. Nibali, announcing his retirement in his Messina on 11 May, had said he was dreaming of a farewell to the Giro Bello.

Maybe he didn’t win the stage he was looking for, but if he didn’t, it’s also thanks to his class. He remained in the standings with his nails, he gave a show in the Turin stage, his big names did not give him the green light. Yesterday he defended the place down from the podium (Joao Almeida of the UAE would perhaps have preceded it without Covid) closed with a flourish on the Fedaia. “I’ve always hated this climb,” she said. «Having finished the Giro with a difficult stage and having kept fourth place makes me satisfied. It was not easy to get up and fight until the end, day after day things got better. «My Giro was exciting, the ovation from the public is wonderful and I can’t ask for more. It made me great, I must say thanks to the Giro and also to Astana: being back here gave me peace of mind ». Chapeau Shark.