It seems laughable now that earlier in the year Astana general manager Alexandre Vinokourov issued his team, including its marquee rider Vincenzo Nibali, with an official rebuke following poor early season form.
The initial report, which appeared in the Gazzetta dello Sport, suggested the rebuke was aimed solely at Nibali, claiming the Sicilian’s results were not commensurate with his considerable earnings.
Talk of a team divided along Kazakh/Italian lines soon followed.
The subsequent denials, including one from Nibali’s agent Alex Carera, stated that the letter of rebuke, which was signed by Vinokourov, was in fact received by all of Astana’s riders and was aimed at the team as a whole.
Personal rebuke or not, Nibali is proving his worth to Vinokourov now. Even more telling is that his team appears united in its efforts to protect their leader.
And what a statement they have made already.
Even before rivals Chris Froome and Alberto Contador crashed out of the Tour, Nibali was animating the action, spicing up the general classification before the others had even roused themselves from their first week slumber.
As early as Stage 2, Nibali was ruffling feathers. After being looked after for 200 kilometres and keeping his powder dry over the rolling, roller-coaster hills of Yorkshire, Nibali attacked on the flatlands with two kilometres to go.
It was a Peter Sagan-type move, not one expected of a rider carrying the overall aspirations of his team – not this early in the race anyway.
Yet Sagan refused to chase, unwilling to drag the other contenders to the line, leaving the likes of Contador, Froome, Alejandro Velverde, Tejay Van Garderen, Andrew Talansky and Jurgen Van Den Broeck looking at each other as Nibali’s pale blue Astana jersey disappeared into the distance.
A delighted Nibali crossed the line, arms held aloft, to claim his first Tour stage win and slip into the yellow jersey.
The Shark of Messina had announced his intentions.
That he was not afraid to take the yellow jersey so early was refreshing. So often we hear how the GC contenders don’t want to be lumbered with the burden of having to defend the jersey. Here, with what he described as a “wonderful victory”, was a rider willing to embrace it!
And again, on Stage 5, while many of the overall contenders had a sense of foreboding about the infamous cobblestones that would corrugate the route, Nibali just went about his business of trying to win the bike race.
Where many of his rivals had already talked themselves out of performing well on the cobbles, Nibali had enough trust in his own bike handling ability to attack the stage with both confidence and panache.
He didn’t win, but he won the respect of the cycling world and his third placing gave him further time on the competition and a huge psychological boost.
Froome of course, crashed out.
But as all true champions do, Nibali refused to accept the lavish praise being heaped upon him, instead deflecting it to his team, in particular Lieuwe Westra for getting in the break and Jakob Fuglsang who led him over the cobbles.
It was the press conference of a rider with confidence and trust in his team, a united team that he knows will work for him until the end.
He faced perhaps his sternest test so far in this Tour on Stage 8, when Contador decided to stretch his legs on the hill top finish at Gerardmer La Mauselaine. While not a massive climb, the 10.3 per cent average gradient after a day in the saddle was nothing to be sneezed at.
Contador sprinted up it, shedding the main contenders one by one, all except for Nibali. The Astana leader sat glued to Contador’s wheel. By stage end he had conceded three seconds, but Contador had been unable to break him, and the rider many considered would be just a bit-part player at the 101st edition of the Tour de France had passed another test.
Stage 10 brought even better results. It is history now that Contador crashed heavily and found himself chasing furiously despite being seriously hurt.
The world watched Astana with interest. Would they slow down and wait for the fallen champ? The pace might have slackened for a moment, but with Michal Kwiatkowski in the breakaway threatening to ride himself into the yellow jersey, Astana had to keep riding.
And ride they did until only Nibali was left. He needed only to finish with the group to win back the yellow jersey (which had been relinquished to Tony Gallopin the day before), but Nibali is a racer, not content to just soft pedal across the line behind a group of like-minded GC contenders.
He attacked. He didn’t need to, but he did. Contador, perhaps his biggest threat in the race, had already abandoned, making Nibali’s attack even less necessary, but he did it anyway. For a few moments he waged a war with Joaquim Rodriguez, who was out chasing King of the Mountain points, and then he was alone, with the best of the rest wallowing in his wake.
His second stage win, although on completely different terrain, was claimed in the same fashion as his first – with a late attack nobody could answer.
At the time of writing (prior to Stage 13), Nibali holds a lead of 2:23 over Australia’s Richie Porte and 2:47 over third placed Valverde. These are not decisive margins by any stretch of the imagination, but they are handy, especially when in the hands of an attacking rider such as Nibali.
So, can Vinokourov claim any credit for firing up the team with his broadside earlier in the year? Probably not. Astana’s flawless performance at this year’s Tour is all to do with Nibali.
Despite his slow start to the year, the Italian’s class was always going to shine through. Unfortunately for Vinokourov, that commodity deserted him a long time ago.
Fancy a wager on your favourite sport? Head on over to PlayUp for great odds and friendly customer service and pick a winner. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.
Australia's Jai Hindley has said he is "lost for words" after a shock stage victory at the Tour de France earned him the leader's…
Australia's Jai Hindley has said he is "lost for words" after a shock stage victory at the Tour de France earned him the leader's…
Tadej Pogacar has won a drama-packed Tour of Flanders, winning in a breakaway with Matieu van der Poel second, Mads Pedersen third and Wout…
Women are not allowed to compete in the Tour de France. However you choose to re-read that sentence, the fact remains: the most famous…
The jam-packed month-by-month quiz full of 2022 sports trivia!
Australian Grace Brown has won silver in the women's time trial, the first event at the world road cycling championships.
