Vincenzo Nibali and Mark Cavendish: two ways of racing so different as to never collide, but such champions as to find themselves together at the top of a Giro which without them would have been little, scourged by bad weather, remembered more for the continuous cuts to the route than for duels that actually missed. But it's not Nibali and Cavendish's fault that they turned out to be too strong compared to everyone else. A confirmed superiority of Cannonball, for years the greatest sprinter around; that of Nibali has exploded in its fullness, from today the most beautiful image of Italian cycling who will finally be able to count on a champion capable of winning all the stage races, even the Tour when he will race it. So on the day of the apotheosis of Nibali, the first Sicilian to triumph in the pink jersey, after two consecutive trebles, one more exciting than the other, in the Polsa time trial and in the snow of the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, it is no surprise that in Brescia, where the Giro was ending for the first time, Cavendish made a very good deal or rather a royal flush, ringing in his fifth success in this Giro, a fabulous "manita" because in practice the Isle of Man champion hit five stages out of the seven flats of this edition. And with this success Cav regained the red leader's jersey of the points classification which in the final stage was symbolically worn by Nibali under the pink jersey. In fact, his most threatening rivals got lost along the way: i.e. Matthew Goss, who never made it to this Giro, and the German John Degenkolb, who with a little luck won in Matera taking advantage of a general tumble but who after a few stages drenched in rain he preferred to retire. Cavendish on the contrary has tenaciously climbed all the mountains, with humility in the rear, sometimes in the company of Appolonio too, last in the general standings at 4 hours 28 minutes and 3 seconds behind Nibali: a champion who is now preparing to give a show also to the Tours.
At the Tour, many would like to push Nibali too. But the Shark is cautious: he knows how much he has spent in the freezing cold of this Giro and he knows perfectly well what the Tour requires to be able to compete for the yellow jersey. The Nibali seen in the three weeks from Naples to Brescia, by all accounts and also by Merckx, has all the credentials to win in Paris too. And the fans – there hasn't been so much enthusiasm for an Italian rider since Pantani – would like to see him against Contador, Froome and even that Wiggins who deeply disappointed in the Giro like Hesjedal. So much so that Nibali practically soon found himself alone among the three big favorites of the eve. In the race, a generous Cadel Evans tried to challenge him but it was an unrealistic attempt: the passing of the years has weighed down the Australian champion who still proudly clung to the podium as third. In fact, the only distant pitfall for Nibali's leadership came from the Colombian colony, by now a reality of today's global cycling, but Rigoberto Uran – second – and Carlo Betancur – the best young rider's white jersey – only served to animate a a race that had already designated who was its master in the Saltara time trial, the first pivotal moment of the Giro. A stage in which Nibali, instead of being overwhelmed by Wiggins' strength, even conquered the pink jersey, demolishing the morale of his English rival already in pieces after the disarming test of fragility in the slimy descent towards Pescara. To complete a Giro under the sign of Sicily there is not only the coronation of Nibali: the rebirth of a rider who seemed lost, Giovanni Visconti, winner of two stages by detachment, on the Galibier and in Vicenza, should also be underlined. With the Shark of Astana, Cavendish and the Colombians the best note of the "fight for pink" 2013.
