"More complete" 2012 Giro d'Italia to Nibali's liking
Sicilian w꧑ould have p🅰referred similar route this year
It remains to be seen whether 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) lines up at the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:2012 Giro d'Italia, b𓆏ut the Sicilian admitted that the routꦰe was more to his liking that of this year's onerous edition.
Nibali battled gamely in the face of Alberto Contador's domination in May, and finished a creditable third in Milan. Rumoured to be building his 2012 campaign around the 168澳洲5最新开奖结果:Tour de France, however, there was a palpably w൲istful air about Nibali as he mulled over the route after the official presentation in Milan🍌 on Sunday.
"Maybe I would have preferred a Giro like that this year, but that's the way it goes," a Nibali told Cyclingnews. "It𓆉's a very nice Giro, well-designed. I like it a lot."
An oft-repeated truism at RAI's Via Mecenate studios on Sunday afternoon was that the 2012 Giro wi🔴ll be a "more human" affair. But to Nibali's mind, it𓆏 is simply a case that the route is more balanced, with ample space for a wider array of players in the race's narrative.
"The tough stages all come in the last week, and there aren't too many stages with sterrato (unpaved roads) or that are hard to manage, so i🍷t's much less complicated," he said. "There should be a bit more for the sprinters too, so it's a more complete Giro than las🐠t year."
Like his stablemate Ivan Basso,♓ Nibali was ⛎reticent to comment on his plans for next season, and would neither confirm nor rule out his participation in the Giro. This year, Nibali led at the Giro while Basso prepared for the Tour on Mount Etna, and it appears that Liquigas-Cannondale's key men will again divide up the stage racing calendar in 2012.
"We'll decide on the programme at our first training camp," Nibali said. "Right now, it's hard to even think about what I should do next year, but I'l🐓l talk about it with the team first and then we'll plan our season."
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Basso has dismiss🧜ed the idea of either man riding the Giro in support of the other while preparing for the Tour, although Nibali appeared slightly more amenable to the possibility.
"෴We'🐎ll have to see. It could even happen that Ivan and I both go to the Giro, although that would be a bit difficult," he warned. "We must try to make sure that we don't end up cutting across one another anyway."
The day before the Giro presentation, Nibali brought the c❀urtain down on his 2011 campaign with a stirring but ultimately futile attack on the Madonna del Ghisallo at the Tour of Lombardy. In spite of his season-long consiste༒ncy, however, Nibali failed to land a single victory.
"I'm still happy, because I had some success, like at the Giro d'Italia," Nibali said. "I had a lot of placings and I was always up there, but in the end, I was just missin🐭g an important victory."

Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’I๊talia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of , published by Gill Books.