Vincenzo Nibali has decided what he will do after retirement

The words of Vincenzo Nibali

Vincenzo Nibali will ride his last race as a professional on Saturday, and on the eve of it to Cyclingnews he took stock of his career: “Now I can say that I have suffered a lot of pressure and expectations. In Italy I have always been in the spotlight, but it is not easy to handle such a situation. Look what happened to Jonas Vingegaard after the Tour de France 2022. Everything wants a piece of you and they think they can criticize you without knowing you. I never hid and went to races even when I was not 100 percent or competitive. So many people didn’t understand it, but I always liked racing, even if I had to suffer and couldn’t sustain the expectations they had of me.”

“The 2014 Tour de France victory was the biggest of my career, because the Tour is a world-class event. Some people say that the falls of Chris Froome and Alberto Contador helped me, but I think I showed then that I was in a great condition and deserved the final victory. Of course, the two Tours are also special. I have the trophies at home and just looking at them gives me goosebumps.”

He closed on his new life: “I will not stop pedaling. First of all I will go to the Saitama Criterium and then I hope to take on the Cape Eric (a race that is done by mountain bike). The new team that will be born in 2023? Douglas Ryder is doing a great job. I will have the role of ambassador and will not be a sports director, for that role there are Gabriele Missaglia and Alex Sans Vega. It will be a young but quality group. For me and the group it will be a new adventure, but we are ready to face the problems and enjoy the victories. It is very inspiring and I am very happy to be part of this. It is my next chapter after a whole life spent as a rider.”