Even though it seemed very unlikely even a few weeks before the 101st edition of the Tour de France kicked off, Vincenzo Nibali reached his season’s biggest objective and arrived to Paris clad in the most coveted yellow jersey, becoming the sixth rider in cycling history to win all three grand tour races. However, the 29-year old Astana captain is still hungry for success and set all his sights to world championships road race, even though his preparations towards the event won’t be perfect.

 

 

“The great thing is that he wants to do it, he can taste that [rainbow] jersey. The pressure of the Tour will work in his favor because he’ll fell less stress than the others feel,” Paolo Slongo said, according to VeloNews.

 

 

Nibali attended a series of criteriums held in Belgium by ASO following his Tour de France success, but is expected to kick off his preparations towards the world championships right after he returns to home Italy.

 

 

“The criteriums will serve him well because they are fast,” Italian national coach Davide Cassani told La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper. “He’ll need 10 days to unplug and then training to get back to his top.

 

 

Without participating in the Vuelta a Espana options for undergoing a thorough build-up towards the event held in Ponferrada in late September are rather limited, and even more so since Astana’s trainer Paolo Slongo opts for not attending North American one-day races. Instead, Nibali is expected to pay a tribute to team sponsors by visiting Kazakhstan what should be followed by riding all the three Trittico Lombardo races — Coppa Bernocchi, Coppa Agostoni, and Tre Valli Varesine, September 16-18.

 

 

“It’s enough if he trains well, with moto-pacing to simulate the races,” Astana trainer Paolo Slongo told VeloNews. “Ideally, it’d be better to race more, but there aren’t many alternatives if you don’t race the Vuelta a España.”

 

 

“The Canadian races could work out, but they can also work against you depending on how your body reacts to the jet lag,” added Slongo. “It’s better possibly that he remains in Italy and races and trains at home.”

 

 

“I could go to his home in Lugano, work with him three days a week and follow him well,” Slongo added. “That’s the best solution leading to the worlds.”