Vincenzo Nibali, for Davide Cassani it’s goodbye

The words of Davide Cassani

Davide Cassani paid tribute to Vincenzo Nibali with a long post on Facebook: “Goodbyes, you know, drag along regrets and melancholy. It was so for example in the case of Federer who at the end of his last match cried like a child. For Nibali it is not so. Federer retired because he could no longer play, his physique could no longer cope. Nibali has never been so lively and serene. At 37, he decided to call it quits,at the Tour of Lombardy, the race he probably loved the most, a classic that saw him triumph as a dominator twice. It is not for me to remember his victories, I would be inclined to say his feats, but at least to put in a row the Tour, the two Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta, a feat that only the very great champions have achieved.”

“Nibali has never had a disagreement, an argument, everyone has always been happy and glad to know him and to work with him or against him because those who appreciated him the most were his opponents. I loved Nibali very much, in all the years I was national team coach I never forgot his name. And if Nibali has no regrets I have one, a very strong one. Just thinking about it makes me so sad. Vincenzo was not Olympic champion because of a trivial and bloody fall. It was 2016, we were in Rio, and that slip with 11 km to go vanished our dreams of glory. One of the most intense days of my life. There we were, playing for an Olympic gold medal and only bad luck robbed Vincenzo of a sure medal. But if I close my eyes and think of Vincenzo the first image that comes to mind is that sprint on the Poggio. Nobody expected such a strong Nibali at Milano Sanremo but that day the good Vincenzo outdid himself giving us 10′ of great cycling. Pure emotion.”

“I can only thank Vincenzo. He gave me so much above all he gave me the certainty that cycling is a great school and an extraordinary mixture of heart and soul. In the last 15 years, Nibali has been one of the main protagonists of world cycling, certainly the strongest Italian, the one who has kept our movement on its feet. But now we have a problem, we still don’t know who can take his place but this is not Vincenzo’s problem but ours. Thank you Vincenzo I hope you have at least as much happiness as you have given me and all your fans. Take care, don’t disappear because even as a former we need men like you.”