Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) will have to hope that his epic at this Giro d'Italia is yet to be written, as he put his chief rival Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) to the sword on the tappone to Corvara in stage 14, only to find two more springing up in his place.
When Nibali surged out of the pink jersey group midway up the Passo Valparola, framed against a backdrop of snow-crowned Dolomites, the Giro seemed to be adhering to its expected script. The Italian champion was painfully awakened from that vision, however, when Steven Kruijswijk (LottoNL-Jumbo) and Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) bridged across soon afterwards, and then forged clear without him three kilometres from the summit.
Nibali was 30 seconds behind Kruijswijk and Chaves by the top, and then faced a forlorn lone pursuit down the other side and over the short, steep Cima del Gatto before the finish. He eventually crossed the line in fifth place, 37 seconds down on the stage winner Chaves and new maglia rosa Kruijswijk.
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Even before his soigneur Michele Pallini could help him into a long-sleeved jersey and whisper the time gaps in his ear, Nibali was engulfed by a swarm of cameras and microphones at the finish area, and he was frank in his assessment of the day's racing.
More on this story:
Giro d’Italia stage 14 highlights - Video
Giro d’Italia stage 15 - Finish line quotes
"I wasn't able to follow the changes in tempo and the acceleration that Kruijswijk made," Nibali admitted. "I sat up in the last three kilometres of the climb because they were laying down a very high rhythm, and I already knew that Valverde had been dropped and was losing time. In the finale, I had to do a time trial by myself, managing my energy."
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