Nibali Week: Let’s Talk About That 2014 Tour de France Win

Nibali won the 2014 Tour de France. He was a winner for two different teams and on a team that was well positioned to support him. He is a guy whose motor might be underestimated, but his will to win and his team's support helped him to do that.

Vincenzo Nibali won the 2014 Tour de France. He was a winner for two different teams and on a team that was well positioned to support him. In the first two installments of Nibalo Week, I tried to give a brief overview of his career. In this installment, we will talk about his Tour De France win.

2014 Tour de France winner is a guy whose motor might be underestimated, but whose will to win combined nicely with that motor to drive him higher than the doubters would expect. He won for two different teams, steadily progressing toward the highest echelon of the sport.

2014 Tour de France was Chris Froome's first chance to show that his initial victory the previous year was no fluke. Nairo Quintana, Alberto Contador, Valverde, Schleck, Thibaut Pinot, Tejay van Garderen and Jurgen Van Den Broeck were among the favorites. Nibali announced his intentions by waiting exactly one day, the flat opening stage in Harrogate, to attack.

Nibali won stage 10 of the Tour de France. He came in 42 seconds ahead of classics group. Contador crashed and abandoned the race. He had 2.23 seconds on Richie Porte. Lars Boom won the stage. It was the first time the cobbles stage was included in the tour. The stage 5 included seven secteurs. Astana dropped Fabian Cancellara, Peter Sagan and a number of cobbleheads on the penultimate secteur.

Vincenzo Nibali won stages Chamrousse and Hautacam. He gradually pushed his lead out to over four minutes. Alejandro Valverde finished 7.37 behind Nibalo.

Vincenzo Nibali won the 2014 Tour de France. He finished with Astana.

2014 Tour de France victory is the crowning achievement of his career. It was a cultural landmark. Could he have beaten a healthy Froome?

2014 Tour de France win is a cultural landmark. Could he have beaten a healthy Froome?

Nibali won the 2014 Tour de France. He is the first Italian cyclist to do so. There are many reasons why Italian cyclists have not won it before. He had a daughter born in the offseason. This helped him prepare for the Tour. Nibali is from Mezzogiorno and Sicily. His victory might stand for a while. It's a fact that he is paid a lot. The Tour is an international event. Other Italian riders have won before, but not as many as Nibal.

31 riders have won the Tour de France just once. Nibali won in 2014. He is one of the few riders to have done so. He's in rare company with Anquetil, Merckx, Gimondi, Hinault, Contador and later Froome. His nickname is the Shark of Straits. It's Nibal Week. The winner of Tour should be celebrated.

The winner of the Tour de France is usually the guy who carved out his most impactful advantage on a flat stage. In 2014, it was Nibali. He was able to beat Froome in the mountains and time trials. He also beat Contador in Tirreno-Adriatico. But he's not the best over a straightforward Tour course. Even if he doesn't crash on stage 4 or 5, he still loses time to Nibalo on cobbles. His best case scenario is finishing 2.18 down with Porte and Thomas. It's possible he could have beaten the very best.

Nibali finished behind Froome in the 2012 Tour, but he was ahead in 2013 Tirreno-Adriatico. In 2014, he finished 3’ behind him, although he won the Gerardmer stage. Froom lost 2:37 on the cobbles in 2014. He had a team support in that Tour. He won by 3 minutes over Nibali. Contador didn't have the same form. His track record says his Tour-winning days are behind.