Sensational at the Vuelta: Vincenzo Nibali already returns home in the second stage, expelled from the jury for having been towed by the Astana flagship while trying to reconnect with the group of the best, after a fall that had put him on foot.
However, the Shark finished the stage arriving 1'28” behind the winner and new red jersey, the Colombian from Orica GreenEdge Esteban Chaves, and about a minute behind Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana.
The worst for Nibali happened after the race when the jury decided to exclude him from the Vuelta: what nailed him is a video taken from a helicopter that shows how the Italian champion clung to the Astana car for about 200 meters, detaching the other runners delayed with him due to the crash about thirty kilometers from the uphill finish line in Caminito del Rey.
The defense of the Astana clan, which pleaded for clemency and asked for the maximum penalty of 10 minutes, was in vain. A fool for the Shark, for the Vuelta a completely unexpected loss of one of his great favourites.
