Impressive, authoritative, unattainable: for the Nibali of this Tour, the dictionary is not enough to find the appropriate adjectives. The Shark has had the keys in hand for the race for days, both for the superiority shown in each stage, and for the case that knocked out first Froome and then Contador. He could have lived on the sidelines from here to Paris, controlling increasingly evanescent rivals, but as a born striker, just to put on a show in a Tour decided too soon, he chose the first stage in the Alps to accomplish another feat of his own. The day was special, 18 July: yesterday was the centenary of Gino Bartali's birth and it was exactly 19 years since the death of Fabio Casartelli on the Portet d'Aspet descent. 5 and a half km from the finish at the top of the Chamrousse, here is Nibali stretching with a powerful progression leaving Valverde and Thibaut Pinot amazed, who immediately raised the white flag. In an instant, the yellow jersey also caught Leopold Konig and Rafal Majka who were leading the race. For a kilometer Nibali seemed satisfied with his action: the day was ending for him in a more than positive way. Valverde detached, Richie Porte, who was second in Saint-Etienne, scattered in the rear in the grip of a bad crush: the general classification spoke increasingly in favor of the leader of the Tour. But Nibali at that point wanted to leave his brand on the first Alpine finish line, a moving tribute to Bartali and Casartelli: and here he is setting off again and flying towards the finish line for his third stage victory, with his hands raised as if he wanted to exult the world by silencing the gossips who cling to the doubts raised by “ Le Monde” for the watts recorded by the Italian champion on the ascent to the Planche des Belles Filles, an exceptional power so much as to arouse, according to the Parisian newspaper, the suspicion of some magic potion. Astana has been involved in some doping cases in the recent past. Vinokourov, now team manager, was stopped for two years for prohibited blood transfusions. Nibali himself, the other day, intervened in defense of the new course taken by the Kazakh team without denying the past. Also for this reason, to underline the change of direction, the Shark wanted his personal trainer with him, Paolo Slongo who has been following him for years first at Liquigas and then at Cannondale.
Too strong not to arouse admiration but also envy: Nibali is aware of it, he wouldn't want to overdo it, master but not dictator and so on the endless climb of the Chamrousse, exhausting if faced at high speed and under a suffocating heat (which had already knocked out Daniel Navarro and Acevedo), the yellow jersey had initially been watching what his direct rivals were up to. Moreover, Astana had its problems: Michele Scarponi's reserve light had come on while the diesel that is Jacob Fuglsang was battered after a sudden fall on the descent of the Col du Palaquit, slipping on a water bottle hastily thrown by Jurgen Van der Broeck , recidivist in throwing having already provoked an illustrious victim in the stage of Planches des Belle Filles: Alberto Contador.
To move the waters in the small group of the best was the deep crisis of Porte who in the final ascent saw his dreams of high classification fade: he will arrive 27th almost 9 minutes behind Nibali, falling to 11th place in the general classification. The Australian's bad day reassured even more Nibali who climbed without ever getting upset, with a discouraging ease for the others, peppered Valverde, who saw the way paved for second place in the standings, and the French Bardet and Pinot in the race for the podium. And it was precisely the Movistar's Murciano and Pinot who were the quickest to attack, but rather than burying Porte - who was going out on its own - their move triggered Nibali's immediate reaction: a counter-offensive that undermined the last hidden hopes of Valverde and C. An Italian in the yellow jersey hadn't won a stage in the Tour since Felice Gimondi. yesterday totally in a doll enough to arrive twenty minutes late. Valverde finished fourth 50 seconds behind the Shark, also preceded by Majka and Konig. In the standings Nibali is now 3'37” ahead of the second who is Valverde. Third is Romain Bardet at 4'24”. Today is the second alpine stage with an uphill finish in Risoul after tackling the Izoard on the Briançon side: a legendary pass in the history of the Tour with a thrilling descent towards Guillestre in the incomparable scenery of the Casse deserte.
