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Sicily turns pink and becomes the cycling capital of the world that the pandemic has forced to reshape habits, commitments and calendar. The eyes are on Vincenzo Nibali da Messina, on his brother Antonio, but also on Giovanni Visconti, who was born in Turin, but is from Mezzo Monreale’s Palermo. But there are also Filippo Fiorelli, a young runner born in Palermo, but indeed from Ficarazzi, a municipality on the outskirts of the capital, and Salvatore Puccio, a native of Menfi, in the province of Agrigento, from where the caravan will pass on Sunday.
The challenge for ultimate success will involve only one of the five ‘prophets of the country: the “Shark” Nibali, who goes on the hunt for the trio, after the successes of 2013 and 2016. There is no shortage of reservations about the Shark estate, which He is in his first year on the Trek and he has recently proven to be more of a day runner than a great runner. Nibali himself, at the press conference, as if escaping, assigning the task of forecasting to others.
“There will be 65 kilometers of time trial, he says, so Thomas will be the # 1 opponent. However, be careful also with my former teammate Jakob Fuglsang and Dutchman Steven Kruijswijk on the mountain, especially because of the temperatures of this unusual Giro. In any case, leaving my Sicilia for the third time will be a great emotion. We will arrive in Messina, in Villafranca Tirrena: I will greet many friends and family, compatible with the restrictions of the virus “.
The challenge between Nibali and Geraint Thomas, a 34-year-old Welshman from Cardiff, winner of the 2018 Tour de France, who will be tasked with giving Ineos the first major stage race of the season, following failure at the last Grande Boucle. Thomas, of the three participations in the pink race, only once started among the favorites: in 2017, the year of Tom Dumoulin’s triumph. However, the then Sky flag bearer was arrested at the foot of the Bockhaus, in Abruzzo, for a fall that forced him to withdraw after a few days of suffering.
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