When Cyclingnews sat down with Vincenzo Nibali at the Bahrain-Merida team’s introductory camp in Croatia at the end of last month, the Italian robustly refuted the notion that his new squad might lack the firepower and influence of Astana, and one of the first names he reached for was that of Ramunas Navardauskas.
The Lithuanian, signed from Cannondale-Drapac, is one of the riders selected to be part of the gruppo Nibali – the core of riders who will train and race with the team’s figurehead and marquee signing all the way up to the Giro d’Italia.
“Nibali is a star,” says Navardauskas, almost in awe, like many in the team, of the man who has won all three Grand Tours.
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“I’m really excited about being a part of it. With Nibali it’s very important to be very strong, to be part of his team. If you’re not at your very best it’s better to take someone else."
"But I’m really looking forward to being part of that squad. There’ll be a lot of Italians around, maybe I'll learn some Italian, because so far it’s zero. I know from experience that Italians are a really friendly bunch, and I’m just looking forward to seeing how it works out.”
Navardauskas had spent his entire professional career, since 2011, at Jonathan Vaughters’ Slipstream set-up (now Cannondale-Drapac), and he felt it was time for a change, something new. Even before the team had really begun to take shape, the Bahrain management were on the phone, as early as April, to try and lure him across – “It’s a good thing when you know the team is really wanting you and waiting for you," he said.
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