Bouncing back from a 2011 which was devoid of victories but did give him a podium finish in the Giro d’Italia, Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas Cannondale) returned to the top step of the podium today in the Tour of Oman.
The Italian climber was strongest on the ascent to the top of Green Mountain, beating Omega Pharma Quick Step’s Peter Velits by ten seconds and Sandy Casar (FDJ BigMat) by 25.
“It’s a wonderful feeling that I was dying to experience again,” Nibali said after crossing the line. “A year without winning wasn’t easy to stomach: I knew I’d given it all I had, as you can see from my performances, but I couldn’t say I was completely satisfied without a win. Now I hope to go on a winning streak again, maybe like in 2010.”
Overnight leader Andre Greipel cracked as expected, with the big sprinter dropping eight minutes and eight seconds.
Nibali’s team-mate Peter Sagan had started the stage second overall but was also unable to cope with the tough parcours. The 2011 Tour of Poland winner finished six minutes 34 seconds back, losing all chance of winning the race.
“I ‘tested’ my legs in yesterday’s finale with an attack,” the victor continued. “Today confirmed my positive feelings. I knew I wasn’t the only one in good condition and there are plenty of good climbers here, so it was crucial to follow a strategy. I had to attack from far out to prevent any riders who were feeling punchier than me from having a chance.”
Early on, six riders broke clear after the start in Muscat, building a strong lead. Bernhard Eisel (Sky Procycling), Greg Henderson (Lotto Belisol), Oscar Gatto (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia), Will Clarke (Champion System), Martin Kohler (BMC Racing Team) and Albert Timmer (Project 1t4i) built a maximum lead of 3 minutes 20 seconds early on, but the bunch then reduced that by a minute and kept closer tabs on them.
With 25 kilometres left the leaders had just over a minute and it was clear then that they had practically no chance. Sure enough, they were reeled in 15 kilometres before the end, close to the point where the riders started the climb.
There Nibali showed his strength, clipping away five kilometres from the top and starting a long pursuit match with Velits.
With one stage remaining, the 2012 Tour of Oman looks to be a battle between the new race leader Velits and Nibali, who is now just one second behind. Tony Gallopin (RadioShack Nissan) is seventeen seconds off the jersey, meaning it’s almost certainly a two-horse race.
“It was a long race into the climbs today,” said Velits after the stage. “On the last climb Nibali attacked. I tried to jump in his wheel but I wasn't able to catch him. I kept my pace in the middle between Nibali and the group that was behind me…I could try to stay with him. Maybe I made a little mistake at that point but I was waiting for the reaction of the group. When I realized that nobody was able to react I gave everything, thinking about the GC.”
Velits is well aware of Nibali’s climbing ability, given that he finished third in the 2010 Vuelta a España that the Italian won. He was later promoted to second when Ezequiel Mosqura tested positive. He dug deep today on that final climb, but couldn’t get back up to the Italian. However he kept him close enough to ensure that he seized the jersey, albeit by the slimmest of margins.
“When I crossed the line it was fantastic to hear that I'd taken the red jersey,” he said, then explaining the significance. “The last time that I had a leader’s jersey on my shoulders it was 5 years ago. I was riding in South Africa at that time. Actually this is the first leader jersey of my [professional] career. I'm over the moon. The work we've done during the winter is repaying us now.”
He noted that tomorrow’s stage was a circuit race. Normally these don’t produce big time gaps and are taken by sprinters, and so it’s likely he’ll hold on. “I hope that nothing big is going to happen,” he said. “We will see.”
Nibali said that he’ll do what he can to challenge, but that he has already exceeded his own expectations. “I primarily came to Oman to prepare as well as I could for March’s races. I’m already really happy with today’s win: but obviously seeing the top of the classification so close makes you hungry for more,” he explained. “I’ll have to come up with something but it’ll be tough on a route like that.”