Nibali returns to the Giro d'Italia with new team Trek-Segafredo

Published November 12, 2019 05:54AM

The team’s General Manager Luca Guercilena confirmed his new grand tour star’s schedule for the next season.

“It’s going to be the Giro d’Italia, the Olympics in Tokyo, the Worlds in Switzerland,” Guercilena told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “These are the main goals for Vincenzo.”

Nibali, 35 this week, is making the switch to the American/Italian team after helping start team Bahrain-Merida three years ago.

He is one of the most successful grand tour riders having won all three races, including the Tour de France in 2014 and the Giro d’Italia twice.

In 2019, he placed second in the Giro d’Italia behind winner Richard Carapaz (Movistar).

Joining Trek-Segafredo, he re-enforces a team that has Richie Porte and Bauke Mollema for stage races and world champion Mads Pedersen for one-day races.

“The 2020 Giro is fairly balanced,” Guercilena said. “There are a fair number of time trial kilometers, but then I believe that the difference will be made in the last phase of mountains.”

The race starts in Budapest and ends in Milan, May 9 to 31. The major mountains are the Stelvio, Agnello and Izoard, with five summit finish stages on the 2020 menu.

The team, with the Italian coffee giant Segafredo as co-sponsor, wanted its new star to be on the start line.

“Starting with a new group, the motivation arrives on its own. Everything is going well so far in our new marriage, and we’ll manage our expectations, both for him and him for us,” Guercilena said.

“For sure, the young riders need to learn from him, like how he focuses on the details all for one goal. But the priority is not for him to come here and teach, he has to go for results and establish himself as a leader. We are going to support that as much as we can.”

Nibali and the team will meet in Sicily, his home island, in December, and again with everyone in the new kit in Spain, in January. He could begin his season in Europe in February.

“Three peaks of form are impossible in cycling,” Guercilena said. “We need to manage things and aim for two.”

Nibali will aim for the Giro d’Italia overall and then back off for the Olympic Games on July 25 in Tokyo.