21
Weaknesses:
Clearly, Nibali’s penache could result in some heavy time losses if he over exerts himself and attempts to cling onto the wheel of Chris Froome in the high mountains. However, more of a concern for Nibali is his lack of ability in on the TT bike in comparison to his other classification rivals and its extremely difficult to forget how Nibali surrendered nearly 4 minutes in the 2 times trials back in 2012, making the 54 kilometre time trial on stage 20, crucial if Nibali is to have any chance of completing his quest for all 3 grand tours.
Verdict:
Despite a very up and down build up to the Tour, you have to remember that Nibali is a consistent performer on the grand tour stage and as a result has taken a spot on all but 1 of his 7 grand tour riders since 2010. Yet, given the strength of his competition in the Tour this year, we believe that top step may just elude his reach and Nibali may have to add this years competition to the list of valiant failures.
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