Interview: Ex-Tour de France winner Vincenzo Nibali talks childhood, greatest moments and what’s next in his cycling career
20th November 2018
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Former Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali sits casually, with a wry smile in front of the Bahrain Merida stand at the World Travel Market in London.
gram accounts.
Image credit: Camille Dupont
The Italian cyclist would rather be enjoying his time off now that the season has come to a close. Instead, he is eye candy in front of an ‘Experience Arabia’ poster, a very different role than usual for the five-time Grand Tour winner. The 34-year-old, known for his grace on the bike, is also charming off it. He welcomes every passer-by with the same radiance, whether cycling fan or novice. But, he admits he wasn’t always so well-behaved. “In school, I didn’t respect the rules. My father told me, ‘I know you like your bike so if you keep not following the rules I will cut it up.’ When I came home one day with bad grades, my father had kept his word and the bike was gone.” It wasn’t all bad for Nibali though. “A month later I had improved my grades and I got my bike back,” he says, still a little relieved. Leaving home and chasing dreams Nibali’s father, Salvatore, was also a cyclist, once winning the Sicilian Championship. He and his wife, Giovanna, ran a movie rental shop on the island and quickly noticed the emerging talents of Vincenzo and his younger brother Antonio. “My father was very happy when I started the sport as he loves cycling. I think my mother was also happy for me to go out too,” he says. “When I stayed at home I’d just create problems but, when I was on the bike I’d be away and then come back too tired to create any issues.”Vincenzo Nibali has won all three of Cycling's Grand Tours
Image credit: Ciclismo Italia via Flickr
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The team has had some success in developing talent on the island, but there has been heartbreak too. When Nibali won his second Giro D'Italia title in 2016, 14-year-old Rosario Costa was riding on a coastal road with his father and some friends when he was hit by a municipal rubbish truck and killed. The 17-time Grand Tour stage winner, who regarded Costa as a 'Godson', was reportedly in tears when he was made aware. He took to Twitter at the time posting, "Unfortunately I’ve heard some sad news. RIP Rosario, there are no words. 1 minute’s silence." The little shark of MessinaPurtroppo sono stato raggiunto da una triste notizia RIP Rosario non ci sono parole, 1' di silenzio. #AsdNibali pic.twitter.com/G0wjJLaHzU
— Vincenzo Nibali (@vincenzonibali) May 15, 2016

The Bluntnose sixgill shark migrates through the Strait of Messina
Image credit: NOAA Ocean Explorer from USA - Sixgill Shark via Wikimedia Commons
Additional reporting by Camille Dupont and Lucy Miller, joint-editors of The National Student.
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