Vincenzo Nibali is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, who competed as a professional from 2005 to 2022.
Born near the Strait of Messina, his nickname is the "Shark of the Strait", "the Shark of Messina" or simply "The Shark". His first major win came at the 2006 GP Ouest-France, a UCI ProTour event. However, experts such as Michele Bartoli have said Nibali is most suited to competing in multi-stage races. He is a highly capable descender and bike handler, very good climber and good time trialist. Nibali is an all-rounder. His biggest wins are the 2010 Vuelta a España, the 2014 Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia twice (2013 and 2016), making him one of six cyclists who have won the three Grand Tours in their career. He has also won the 2012 and 2013 editions of the Tirreno–Adriatico stage race.
Nibali is mostly a stage racer, but he's a good performer in classic cycle races as well, having won the 2014 and 2015 editions of the Italian National Road Race Championships, the GP Ouest-France in 2006 and above all a "Monument" of road bicycle racing: the Giro di Lombardia in 2015. He also achieved podiums in Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Milan–San Remo.
2013-2016 |