Nibali to quit cycling; Team Emirates’ Gaviria finishes 2nd
Italian Vincenzo Nibali tearfully announced his upcoming retirement in front of crowds of his fans following stage five of the Giro which ended in his hometown of Messina on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old is riding his 11th Giro this year and he was shown a film of his achievements ater the stage.
“This is my last Giro,” said Nibali, who won the race in 2013 and 2016, the Tour de France in 2014 and the Vuelta a Espana in 2010.
He has also finished in the top three of a Grand Tour 11 times.
“I will most likely stop at the end of this year,” he said, fighting the tears, as he was interviewed by RAI television.
Nibali is known as a technically gited rider with a brilliant tactical mind. He has won some of cycling’s prestigious one-day races in recent seasons, including Milan-san Remo in 2018 and the Tour of Lombardy in 2015 and 2017.
Meanwhile, French cyclist Arnaud Demare won a bunch sprint at the end of the fith stage of the Giro d’italia on Wednesday and Juan Pedro López kept hold of the leader’s pink jersey.
Demare edged past Gaviria at the end of the 174-kilometre (108-mile) route from Catania to Messina ater sprint favourites Cavendish and Ewan had been dropped earlier in the day. Nizzolo was third
Demare, who rides for Groupama-fdj, edged Fernando Gaviria at the end of the 174-kilometer (108-mile) route from Catania to Messina ater sprint favorites Mark Cavendish and Caleb Ewan had been dropped earlier in the day. Giacomo Nizzolo was third.
Fernando Gaviria showed a fast sprint to take second place on stage 5 of the Giro D’italia from Catania to Messina (174km).
The Colombian was well placed in the final but was outpaced by Frenchman Arnaud Demaré (Groupama-fdj) with Gaviria half a wheel length behind.
Joao Almeida took a two second time bonus through a tactical sprint point at 40km to go with help from his teammates, especially Diego Ulissi. The Emirati team captain now moves up to 7th place on the General Classification as Juan Pedro Lopez (Trek-segafredo) continues in the Maglia Rosa.
Gaviria: “I felt really good today and I was looked ater so well for the whole stage. I had problems with my derailleur in the end and I couldn’t get in the gear I needed. It was a hectic final and I think someone’s wheel may have touched me from behind. It’s really frustrating and I could not hide it on the line but these are things that can happen in races.
Did it cost me the victory? I don’t know, because Demare was also very strong today. The main thing is the legs are good and we’re really motivated and focused for another chance tomorrow.”
Tomorrow the race moves to the Italian mainland with another sprint stage from Palmi to Scalea (192km).
Demare also struggled on the climb but his team managed to eventually get him back to the peloton.
It was a sixth stage win in the Giro for the 30-year-old Demare but his first win of the year ater a difficult start to 2022.
“My victory today means that in cycling we must never give up,” Demare said. “The sprint has been fluid from my point of view, even though it might have appeared chaotic. I’ve been patient before I launched the sprint.
“I lost a fair bit of time up the hill but my teammates have done a great job to bring me back quickly in the downhill. Then we worked hard to maintain Cavendish and Ewan behind.”
Most of the overall contenders crossed the line together. López maintained his 39-second advantage over Lennard Kämna ater moving into the overall lead on Tuesday. Rein Taaramäe was third, 58 seconds behind López.
“I don’t believe the moment, it’s the first day of my life with the maglia rosa,” López said. “A lot of riders say to me, ‘Congratulations, enjoy, enjoy the day, enjoy the moment,’ and for sure I enjoy the moment because it’s one of the best days of my life.”
Meanwhile, when Biniam Girmay chased Mathieu van de Poel across the line in the opening stage of the Giro d’italia last weekend, he offered further proof that Eritrea is an African hotbed of cycling.
In March, six days before his 22nd birthday, Girmay signalled his all-round potential at Gent-wevelgem, becoming the first African to win one of cycling’s one-day classics.