Nibali lives up to predatory nickname in Giro win

TORINO, Italy (AFP) — Some will call Vincenzo Nibali’s dramatic Giro d’Italia victory on Sunday lucky, but it served as a reminder that “the shark” is dangerous when in deep water.

Three years after the Italian sealed a maiden pink jersey with an epic ride through the snowy Dolomites, a second Giro triumph looked out of reach when Steven Kruijswijk of LottoNL – Jumbo opened up a huge lead in the final week of a thrilling 99th edition.

Over two intense days in the mountains, pre-race favorite and Astana rider Nibali went from trailing the Dutchman by 41 seconds to seemingly out of contention at 4:43 back.

But “the shark” has a habit of biting back at his rivals.

And when Kruijswijk crashed into a snow bank early on the descent of the Colle dell’Agnello climb bordering France and Italy on Friday, the race for pink was suddenly back on two days before the finish.

On stage 19, Nibali forged ahead to victory on the summit finish at Risoul in France, where he also won on his road to the Tour de France overall triumph in 2014.

Like a great white patiently circling his prey, Nibali was unforgiving when he went in for the kill.

“Steven Kruijswijk had a good advantage after the Dolomites but I knew the highest mountains were yet to come,” Nibali …

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