San Salvo (Italy) (AFP)
Italian Vincenzo Nibali (Trek), candidate for victory in the Giro, warned of bad weather likely to affect the pink race, before the last two weeks.
"The organization has already prepared plans B and maybe even C, in case of snow and bad weather," said the "Shark" from Messina on Monday on the first day of rest near Vasto (south -est), in the rain.
"Managing the race is not very easy. Longer climbs suit me better", added the Sicilian on the assumption of running more aggressively from the next days, without waiting for the high mountains and the uncertainties that accompany the possibility of crossing the highest passes.
Nibali (35) occupies after nine stages 5th place in the general classification, 57 seconds behind the Portuguese Joao Almeida (Deceuninck).
"He runs well," he said of the wearer of the pink jersey.
"But nobody really knows him. I don't think he knows how far he can go himself. We'll hear about it in the future."
The two-time Giro winner (2013, 2016) underlined the difficulty of dealing with the drop in temperatures in this autumnal Giro d'Italia: "All the riders arrived with very little body fat. We are therefore more sensitive to temperatures. and we must cover ourselves very well and take care of the diet. With the cold, the energy expenditure is very important. "
On his opponents, Nibali pointed the Dutchman Wilco Kelderman, the second in the general classification (30 seconds from Almeida) likely to benefit from his match with the Dane Jakob Fuglsang: "He proved on Etna that he is was doing well and yesterday (Sunday) was brilliant on a dry climb. "
The Italian also explained the handful of seconds lost on Sunday at the finish in Roccaraso: "I made a mistake when I took off my raincoat 9 kilometers from the finish. I felt the cold immediately. after in the descent. The others took off their protections later. But I think that what weighed the most is that this type of climb is not very adapted to my characteristics. "
© 2020 AFP