Despite another stage during which bad weather conditions did their best to wreak havoc in the peloton, Vincenzo Nibali held on to his pink leader’s jersey at the Giro d’Italia today.

“The team was always together today. The final part of the stage was probably the most delicate, when your strength, and that of your team-mates, is a bit drained. But Tanel Kangert was always with me, and he was so strong that I had to ask him to hold back a bit in the closing kilometres. We started in the sun and ended in the rain, and at Vallombrosa, the temperature dropped to 10 or 11 degrees. But I’m in good shape and it wasn’t a problem for me.”

At a certain point it looked as if Nibali had a chance to put the hammer down on Wiggins (Sky) who was struggling on the slippery descents, but Nibali was unaware of Wiggins’ problems.

“We were working hard and riding fast in the downhill sections, but my team-mate Gruzdev fell, thankfully without serious consequences. My team car was at the back of the caravan, so I didn’t know Wiggins was behind until Vini Fantini, BMC and Garmin started to pull.”

Asked about his main adversaries for the remainder of the Giro, Nibali was quite clear: “Wiggins and Hesjedal have lost time, but they are still among my main rivals, along with Evans and Scarponi. But the Giro is long, we all know that, and you can always have a bad day. Yesterday, Wiggins was very strong, and very close to winning, despite his mechanical problems.”