Vincenzo Nibali - Season goals: Tour de France victory and what's next?

In 2010, the successful Italian, who is also known as the "Shark of the Road," won the Vuelta a Espagna. Last year he took the overall victory in the Giro d'Italia ahead of Rigoberto Uran and finished second in the Vuelta. This year he decided not to take part in the Giro d'Italia and is challenging Contador, Froome, Valverde and Co. in the battle for the "Maillot Jaune" and is trying to realize his first Tour de France victory with a strong team. But what happens after that?

by Bruno Fleckenstein

It was his father Salvatore, himself a great lover of cycling, who put his son on the track of cycling. He was born in the year of Francesco Moser's great triumph, and when he was about nine years old, watching his father paint a bicycle frame red, he was seized by "cycling magic".

Vincenzo didn't get on a road bike right away, but when he did, the young Sicilian surprised even his parents by finishing second in his first race. In the junior category he achieved numerous victories throughout his career and in 2002 was awarded the bronze medal in the time trial at the World Road Cycling Championships in Zolder, Belgium.

In order to develop in cycling, he was forced to leave his beloved Sicily and move to Tuscany, where he wore the jersey of Gs Mastromarco and raced in the U23. He achieved seven victories in 2003 also in international races and improved continuously. He extended his successes with the renewed winning of the bronze medal in 2004 in the time trial at the Road Cycling World Championships in Verona. It is also the time when he came to his nickname "Shark of the Road".
For the 2005 season, Nibali got a professional contract with the Italian ProTour team Fassa Bortolo. A year later he moved to the Liquigas-Cannondale team, where he stayed for six years.

The glorious years from 2010
2010 was an outstanding year in terms of international success. He finished the Giro d'Italia in third place overall ahead of his current teammate Michele Scarponi and two places behind his compatriot and winner Ivan Basso. He won the Italian one-day race "Trofeo Melinda" as well as the Tour of Slovenia and won the Spanish classic Vuelta a Espagna.

In 2011 he tried again at the Giro and this time finished second overall, "only" seventh at the Vuelta. A year later, he passed on the Giro and tried to prove himself at the Tour de France, finishing third overall. He also rode to overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico and the Tour of Padania in 2012. In 2012, his marriage to his wife Rachel was another highlight, albeit a private one.

His new team Astana, to which he had switched in 2013, also because it offered him the opportunity to build a team around him to win the Giro d'Italia, gave him another boost in his career. He then managed to take the trophy of the Giro d'Italia that year and was the bearer of the "Maglia Rosa" from the 8th stage and did not strip it off again until the end. His closest pursuers were Rigoberto Uran and Mark Cavendish and Michele Scarponi, who finished fourth overall behind the two chasers. Winning the Tirrenen Classic and the Tour of Trentino in 2013, along with a second place in the Vuelta a Espagna, were among his accolades of consistent performance at the very highest level.

What happens next in 2014
The big goal this year is to win the Tour de France. Nibali has assembled a strong team to support him. Above all, his compatriot Michele Scarponi, Jakjob Fuglsand from Denmark and his Estonian teammate Tanel Kangert ...