After saying goodbye to road racing, Vincenzo Nibali enjoys mountain biking and has decided to participate in the BMW HERO Südtirol Dolomites on 17 June.
Source: Sellaronda Hero press release
The renowned Sellaronda Hero will take place in Selva di Val Gardena on Saturday 17 June and Vincenzo Nibali will be at the start: the Shark is still fit and, after the 13th place at the Cape Epic together with Samuele Porro, still wants to go off-road.
Winning a stage race means being a talented cyclist, but being one of the few road professionals to boast a victory in all three grand tours is a privilege reserved only for purebred champions. And Vincenzo Nibali, in his own right, is one of these, especially if we add the victories in the big classifications such as Il Lombardia and Sanremo. So, when last year, after 18 seasons as a professional, the Shark of Messina decided to end his career, many asked themselves "What will Vincenzo do now?".
One thing the friends who know him well were sure he would not lose, that is the pleasure of pedaling.
«Yes, for me the bike is life, and I still enjoy it, even if it is no longer my job - Nibali tells us - and in particular I like mountain biking, which I have always practiced as a "training" diversion, even in winter ». He used it extensively during the lockdown in Switzerland where he resides, and then maintained it a couple of times a month.
In reality, there are photos of Nibali engaged in mountain bike races on the internet: «Yes, it's true, I took part in a race on the Island of Elba and this year at the Cape Epic in South Africa. Why? I continue to attend mtb because I enjoy it: a discipline that always requires a lot of attention, great technique and always pushing». Lo Squalo has thus summarized the essence of the discipline in one sentence, and now that he will participate in the HERO Dolomites everything seems amplified.
«I've always heard of it, and I know that in addition to being very beautiful, it's quite demanding» but when we point out to him that in terms of the relationship between distance and elevation it is the hardest marathon bike in the world, the silence on the phone lasts a few seconds «…yes I remember that Aru told me about it as a very, very tough test» my colleague Fabio Aru was in fact among the starters of the last edition.
The 17th edition of HERO Sudtirol Dolomites will take place on Saturday 13 June in the traditional two routes of 86 kilometers (with 4.500 meters in altitude) and 60 kilometers (with 3.200 metres) and Vincenzo has chosen to challenge the longer and more demanding distance.
Let's say that if the race requires so much effort, the next question can only be that of training: «Let's say that by now I live a little from day to day» which for someone like him means never stopping preparing for a sporting commitment.
«Yes, and then I know the ascents and descents of the Dolomites well, even if doing them on asphalt is not the same thing as pedaling them on a mountain bike».
He will have to fit the training sessions with his new role as consultant to the Q36.5 team of which he is an ambassador: «Well, this is a new job, where instead I have to learn to train» and he says it laughing, but not too much: «I like it work with the guys on the team and stay close to them, as well as with the companies and the development of the equipment» and if you ask his former mechanics, everyone will tell you how meticulous Vincenzo was and is in setting up the vehicle: «Yeah, I have a pair of Scott Sparks in the garage, but I don't think I'll make the HERO with the front…».
The multidiscipline whose importance Nibali also underlines is also a bit like this: knowing how to excel on the saddle as well as when you get off the bike. And we are certain that the Shark of Messina will bite the Dolomites once again.
